Heroic Acts Performed at a Reasonable Price
by Son of Caliban
Summary: In which Izuku Midoriya acquires a power called Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap from the former president of the United States of America, as well as a fashionable pink coat. Mayhem ensues.
1. Valentine

Heroic Acts Performed at a Reasonable Price

Izuku Midoriya was dead.

The fact that it wasn't really his fault was a rather moot point, but it was still a point in his favour as far as most people would be concerned. He hadn't chosen to die; the cause of his death hadn't been suicide, or suicide by proxy. He had simply tried his best, and failed. The fact that he had failed so early in his journey within the hallowed halls of the pinnacle of heroic academia that was UA was tragic, for sure, but also perhaps fitting.

Izuku, for all his training with the world's number one hero, was still a boy full to the brim with self-doubt. He wasn't sure of himself in any way, about any thing. He doubted his worth most of all, whether he even deserved to be here. His own father had left him and his mother when he found out Izuku had been born Quirkless. His own mother had never tried to affirm her son's dream, only fretted over how it was her fault somehow that he could never make it real. His own best friend had turned on him, disregarding him completely at first before turning to outright bullying him, treating him like some kind of subhuman for his lack of a Quirk.

Izuku didn't care about his own life. Anybody with half a brain could tell. He threw himself into dangerous, life-threatening situations wrought with peril because he wanted to save people, true, but there was also the fact that he didn't really comprehend the value of his own life. There was only so much time one could spend being called 'useless' as a child before it began to sink in and take effect, after all. And without a full family to stabilize him, the effects had only grown worse and worse. Izuku Midoriya was a boy in grave danger from both himself and others.

Of course he was willing to drive himself to near-death in a gruelling workout under a man who didn't know the first thing about training a child! Of course he was willing to accept constant verbal and physical abuse from a boy he still called his friend despite the fact the boy himself thought of Izuku as little more than a punching bag and potential speed bump. Of course he was willing to throw himself at a robot the size of an office building with a power he didn't even remotely understand!

As far as the man observing all this was concerned, Izuku Midoriya deserved much, much better than what he was getting. So he elected to intervene, as best he could.

The man's name was Funny Valentine. He was a dead man, of sorts, having chosen to end his own life with the assistance of another version of himself rather than spin for eternity and bury himself deep in the earth. It was a peculiar set of circumstances that had led to his prior fate, believe you me. But now he had found himself in a seemingly endless hall of mirrors, with each mirror showing him different things. They were like windows into other dimensions; here a small blonde boy struggled to rise to the top of a system that hated him, using strange magic and superhuman physical abilities, all while wearing a silly orange jumpsuit. There a man in all black with one arm of metal and one of flesh swung a sword the size of a man around, killing horrific monsters to avenge the love of his life and attain vengeance against his oldest friend and most faithful enemy.

He had watched all of these, and learned, but the tale of Izuku Midoriya spoke to him in a way the others did not. Perhaps it was the boy's father, gone from his life at such a young age, or the way he fought not for himself but for an ideal he loved. Perhaps it was his dogged determination to not let the world keep him down, in spite of its greatest efforts, or his endless dedication to his own heroic dream.

Regardless of reason, Funny Valentine very much liked Izuku Midoriya. So much so he wanted to do the boy a favour. Using the power of the mirror, he rewound, right to the point where the boy was about to die. An explosion filled the air before him, his body just a touch too slow to dodge the attack. The explosion had come from a fellow student, the very same boy who had with years of verbal and physical abuse turned Izuku Midoriya into a stuttering, socially impotent mess of a boy barely able to stand up straight without worrying about people seeing him.

Then, using the power of his Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (often called D4C for convenience), Funny Valentine stepped through the mirror, and into the fire and noise. He wrapped his coat around Izuku Midoriya in the moment before the fire hit them, and disappeared a second time, materializing back in the hall. There they stood in silence for a moment, Funny backing up and freeing Izuku from his coat.

Izuku screamed in surprise, his glowing fist sending Valentine flying. Even though he had used D4C to block the punch, the blow still rocked him and sent him hurtling skyward. He pulled off his pink coat however, and wrapped himself in it, materializing between Izuku and one of the mirrors he had nearly backed into. He let the coat fall, before tapping the boy on the shoulder and taking a quick step back.

"Hello, Izuku Midoriya." Funny greeted, nodding at the much smaller boy. He had known Izuku to be short, but even Funny at his rather average five-ten towered over the boy. "I am Funny Valentine, former president of the United States of America and now... well, I'm not wholly certain what I am. Some sort of omniscient watcher of sorts, I suppose. That doesn't really matter, however."

Izuku was staring at him, and it disturbed Funny to see that in spite of the fact that his right arm was broken in approximately nine places, the boy wasn't even whimpering. His jaw was clenched and his breathing short and hurried, but it was obvious that the extreme pain was nothing truly special to him.

Funny had been on the receiving end of some truly vicious attacks; he had been shot, stabbed, burned, choked and even very nearly died of thirst once. But usually these things had simply killed him, and another version of himself had entered his prime reality using the inherited power of D4C. This boy was suffering and not even a single sob or whimper escaped his lips regardless.

Funny was dually impressed and concerned. Impressed with the boy's resilience, and concerned because of the boy's age and lack of any professional training. He offered the boy a hand, gloved in purple velvet. Izuku stares at him for a moment, before trying to take it in his own shattered right hand. Funny realized his mistake and switched hands before Izuku could damage himself any further, taking his left hand and shaking it.

"Where am I?" Izuku asked, voice soft, and Funny nodded again. "W-what happened to K-Kaachan? W-where is... everybody?"

"I am afraid you are no longer in Japan." Funny declared, shaking his head. "Nor are you in any material world at all. Welcome to the Mirror Realm, my personal afterlife of sorts. I brought you here, young Midoriya... because I wish to give you something. A gift, of sorts. That is, if you are willing to accept?"

Izuku looked the man up and down, eyes narrowing. His thoughts were alive with all sorts of observations and theories, trying to format a survival plan. The man didn't seem outright hostile, but some villains were so skilled at disguising their evil intent they could fool even the most observant heroes into believing they were innocent. Izuku wasn't sure what exactly to think of this Funny Valentine man; he had seemingly saved Izuku's life, but he had also pulled him into some strange place using a Quirk the likes of which Izuku had never seen before.

The young man was unsure of this, if he was completely honest. And yet this Funny Valentine did not seem dangerous; if his Quirk truly was of the Warp variety, he likely could have killed Izuku by now. Instead he seemed to want to help Izuku, apparently by giving him a gift of some kind. Izuku wasn't sure what sort of gift a former American president in a pink suit would give him, considering his prior lack of association with former American presidents in pink suits. He was however quite certain it would be something interesting, at the very least.

So Izuku swallowed back his concern and nodded once.

"Wonderful." Funny Valentine nodded once in return, before offering Izuku his left hand again. When Izuku took it, clasping it tight, he smiled.

"In that case, by the power invested in me by fate and my own great fortune, I give you this gift; Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap!" Funny declared with a grand gesture of his free hand.

Something overcame Izuku, a sudden wash of heat pouring over his whole body originating where his hand met Funny's. He gritted his teeth and bore it, however, wondering if this was perhaps some sort of attack. Until the heat stopped and he dropped to his knees. Funny Valentine, standing over him, blinked once in surprise.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap had not appeared over him, nor had it seemingly done much of anything at all. Funny attempted to manifest his Stand. It failed to appear. That meant he had successfully passed it on; Izuku simply hadn't triggered it. Or perhaps... perhaps it wouldn't work on him, due to his being from an alternate reality? His world bore seemingly no similarities to Funny's own, now that he thought about it. Not a single mention of Stands or Stand users, nor the Holy Corpse, or even Funny's own name. Perhaps Izuku was incapable of using a Stand?

Little did Funny know that he had very much succeeded in passing on his D4C; simply not in the way he had intended. When exposed to Izuku's very different form, it shifted to something very different. No longer was D4C a Stand; it had become a Quirk, one that interfaced with Izuku's Quirkless body quite well. Izuku's whole body tensed, his muscles humming with energy for a moment as it synced up with the One For All that All Might had given him.

Two inherited powers, in one body. Had Izuku already possessed a Quirk at birth, the strain would likely have killed him. As it was, it merely hurt like the Devil himself for a long moment, before he fell still, chest heaving. His arm was still broken, but the pain was negligible compared to the agony his body had just been subjected to. He lay still on the ground, before slowly sitting up.

Funny Valentine stood over him still, but upon seeing the boy stir he breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive, at least. He offered Izuku a hand up, which Izuku accepted, and upon regaining his feet Izuku blinked away the last spots from his eyes and looked up at Funny again.

"Um... d-did it work?" he asked.

Funny just shrugged.

"I cannot say." he replied. "My D4C has gone somewhere... do you feel any different?"

Izuku felt around for the power he apparently now possessed; he felt the constant surge of One For All, an endless wellspring of power. But beside it there was something else, something new. He reached for that, and felt a strange rush of energy. He heard Funny make a sound of surprise, and when he looked at his hands he saw... something. A strange ghostly after image, of bizarre leather-like armour covered in stitching. He touched one hand to the other, but felt nothing.

"D4C..." Funny breathed. "Of course. In your world, Stands are an aspect of your own bodies, not of the soul. So it bound to your physical form..."

Funny suddenly reached down and grabbed his jacket where it lay discarded on the floor, before throwing it over Izuku. The jacket fell to the ground, Izuku's body disappearing and when Funny lifted it there was no sign of the boy's presence at all.

"Valentine-san?" he heard, from behind him. "Is... is this supposed to happen?"

Valentine turned, to see Izuku's upper body sticking out from between two of the mirrors, his lower half nowhere to be seen. The boy was panicking, flailing his broken arm, and Funny quickly moved to the boy's side to help him out of his little jam.

"Yes." he confirmed, as he took Izuku's left hand and pulled him, letting the boy slide the rest of the way out of the space between mirrors and land on the ground. "This is the power of my... or, your D4C. It allows you to move between dimensions and points in space when you are between two objects. You can also apply this effect to others, moving them to other dimensions as well. If you can locate another version of yourself, you can pass on your power to him, and send him back to your dimension. This means you can survive any injury if you can shift dimensions fast enough."

Izuku looked at his hand, willing D4C back into existence. He admired the design of his new ghostly armour, apparently the essence of his Quirk, or Stand or whatever. He closed his fist, and then looked back at the space between mirrors. He looked behind him to another pair of mirrors and then reached between the two mirrors. His hand emerged between the two behind him, vanishing from sight at the end of his arm. He kept pushing it through, more and more of his arm moving through, until he saw his own back when he pushed his head through.

"Th-this is incredible, V-Valentine-san!" he declared, stepping the rest of the way through the objects. "I-I... I've never seen anything like this? Most Quirks are usually very simple, obeying the laws of physics to some extent, but this is... I mean, unless it's somehow disassembling my atoms and shooting them off to the other location at light speed or something, I don't understand how..."

The boy fell into a mumbling rant, his train of thought accelerating to dangerous speeds. Valentine just watched for a little while, leaning back against one of the mirrors and relaxing. Without D4C, it seemed as though he was no longer able to move through the mirrors into the worlds beyond. He lamented the loss for a moment, before Izuku looked in awe at his own hand again and he was reminded that it was now in good hands.

"Izuku." Valentine said, drawing the boy's attention again. "There is something I must warn you about. D4C is powerful, but whatever you do, you must never move anybody but yourself between dimensions. Especially if you want to protect them. If two versions of the same person meet each other in the same dimension, they will merge, killing them both instantly. This can be a good way to dispatch of your enemies, but it means moving your friends and allies between dimensions is an extremely dangerous endeavour."

Izuku nodded rapidly, clearly understanding the instructions and warning. Funny sighed in relief; the boy was not ready. But at least he understood; and it was time to return him to his home dimension. But first...

"Every other version of yourself now knows of D4C." he explained. "When you appear before them, they will be ready to accept it and carry on your mission. If you wish to heal your broken arm now, you need simply travel to another dimension and give it to one of your counterparts."

"Recovery Girl can... fix this." Izuku replied, shaking his head. "I-I-I'll only use that power if I... if I have to."

"Very well." Funny nodded once, offering the boy his hand to shake again. The two did so, before Funny handed him his pink coat. "Then go forth, Izuku Midoriya. And be a hero. I, for one, believe in you."

Izuku sniffled, and Funny wondered if perhaps he would cry before going. But the boy swallowed down his tears, and shock at being informed that there was someone who believed in him, and reached out to touch the portal. The glass parted around his hand like water, and he stepped into his own world once more.

Katsuki Bakugou's monstrous explosion rushed forward to engulf him, and Izuku threw Funny's coat over his head. He faded away, and re-emerged behind Katsuki, between two steel pillars. The blonde boy was looking down the hall, waiting for the smoke from his monstrous explosion to clear, and Izuku lunged for him.

He chopped his hand across the back of the other boy's neck, knocking him out with a single blow. He didn't even have to enhance his strength with One For All; the attack was textbook perfection, and completely unexpected. Izuku heard All Might's shock over his earpiece, before raising his unbroken hand to his head and pressing a finger to the device.

"Uraraka, I'm on my way!" he declared, before turning toward the stairs and making a break for it.

Up the stairs and down the hall he found Uraraka locked in a stalemate with Tenya Iida, whose metallic armour made him resemble a cross between a knight and a Gundam. Izuku took in their locations, blinking rapidly as he scanned the room. Uraraka looked at him, startled by his shattered arm, and Izuku turned to her and nodded.

"Uraraka, I'm going to go for the bomb." he declared. "But I need your help."

"Sure thing!" Uraraka gave him a thumbs up, before looking at his arm again. "But, Deku... what about your arm?"

"It's nothing." Izuku said, shaking his head. "Recovery Girl can fix it after the exercise. I... I hope."

Izuku bit back his doubt, before taking a step back. He then grabbed Uraraka from behind and pulled her toward him, sandwiching himself between her and the wall. He triggered D4C as he did so and emerged from the space between the bomb and the far wall, which were just close enough together to allow him to appear. He heard Iida gasp in shock, but ignored it in favour of touching a hand to the bomb.

"Weapon secured!" he declared, before leaning against the giant weapon, apparently a fake made of paper mâché, and took a long breath.

Iida stood stock still in shock. Midoriya, who he knew to have a strength enhancement Quirk of some type, had just teleported across the room, from behind Uraraka to the other side of the room behind the bomb. Uraraka was also in shock, half from the teleportation and half because Izuku had grabbed her and pulled her up against himself and she wasn't sure she was quite ready for that kind physical contact with a boy yet, especially not one as cute as-

She cut herself off and made a bizarre groaning sound before realizing that she had won. Then she punched the air in excitement.

All Might declared the heroes the victors, once he too overcame his shock at young Midoriya's sudden display of some strange kind of warp Quirk. The rest of class 1-A also recovered in time for them to spout all sorts of lines about their classmate's show of power.

"Could he always do that?" wondered Momo Yaoyorozu aloud, touching a finger to her chin.

"That was sick!" declared Denki Kaminari, who had one hand in the air like Uraraka.

"That was weird." replied Kyoka Jiro, whose hands remained in her pockets.

"I wish I could touch Uraraka like that..." drooled Mineta Minoru, moments before being stabbed in the back of the head from one of Kyoka's extendable earphone jacks.

Outside UA, it started to rain. None of them noticed, too busy were they speculating on the topic of their classmate's amazing new ability. But to one young man, standing in the newly falling rain in a black coat, with an umbrella over his shoulder and a blonde ponytail sneaking out from under his hood, it was quite important indeed.

Now he could find his master with much greater speed, after all.

**Author's Note:**

**This idea came to me as a result of a review on my other crossover, and it just wouldn't leave my head. The idea was simple; 'What if Deku got D4C?' Then I realized both of them have bunny ears and things just kind of escalated.**

**Well… here we are. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Butler Hitman Soldier Son

"What the fuck was that, huh?"

Katsuki Bakugou didn't know he looked like an insane conspiracy theorist, but he didn't really care either. All he wanted to do was make clear his extreme dislike of the current situation, which was the much greater problem here. Simply put; Katsuki believed he had been lied to, and that the liar was in fact lying about one of the few things Katsuki held sacred. After all, Izuku Midoriya has been lying about power.

For all his life Katsuki had (falsely) assumed Izuku to lack power. The boy was Quirkless, which as far as Katsuki was concerned meant he was powerless. That was the nature of power, after all; the stronger your Quirk, the stronger the person. Hard work could only go so far; some people were simply born tougher, stronger, faster... better. This was simple to understand, and it was what Katsuki had spent his whole life believing. The strong reigned over the weak, protecting them but ultimately ruling over them.

Izuku had been the weakest of the weak... that was, until he had suddenly and sporadically become strong. Katsuki had just watched the video footage of his own defeat, his confusion obvious. Where had Izuku gotten that long pink jacket? How the hell had he disappeared under it like that, only to show up behind him? What the hell was that weird ghostly form over his own, with those giant ears and that freakish face?

Katsuki was pissed off about it all, and the fact that Izuku was in the nurse's office getting his arm repaired only made him more angry. And then that brought up another question; how the hell had he broken his arm? He sure as hell hadn't punched Katsuki with it, so when did he use his superhuman strength? Had he punched the air or something? That made even less sense!

"Young Bakugou, I can assure you we intend to find out exactly what suddenly gave young Midoriya this impressive new ability." All Might said, placing a massive hand on Katsuki's shoulder. "However, at the moment, he is recovering from his injuries. As such, we will have to be patient."

Katsuki nearly went off on another tirade, but a serious look from All Might and the realization that most of the rest of his class was staring at him saw him shut his mouth a moment later, though not without another moment's consideration for perhaps trying once again to explain his displeasure.

Several hours later, Izuku Midoriya was walking home in the rain, shortly after being interrogated as to the nature of his Quirk... or, Quirks now, he supposed. He ran a hand through the tangled green mess that was his hair hair, lamenting the fact he had forgotten to bring either an umbrella or a waterproof coat with him to school that morning. He sniffled, hugging his arms around himself.

Yes, an umbrella, he decided, would have been a wonderful thing to have.

This was shortly before the rain stopped. Or, more accurately, the rain stopped falling on him. He looked around, all around the deserted back street, and noticed that it had not stopped anywhere else. He blinked, holding a hand out, palm up. No water. No rain. Curious. Was this the work of his new Quirk somehow? He wasn't sure how 'teleporting by being between things' translated to 'stopping rain in mid air', but both seemed about to make the same amount of sense when he thought about them.

Then he realized there was a shadow falling upon him in the dim, watery light, and decided to look up. Above him was a young man, perhaps about his age, who was sort of laying on the rain. As in, the rain had apparently chosen to stop, in mid-air, dozens of droplets, and he was laying atop them. Izuku blinked once, then twice, before looking back around himself to make sure there was nobody around perhaps using a Quirk to make him hallucinate. Was this the side effect of the minor painkiller Recovery Girl had forced down his throat before he left? Hallucinating boys his age laying on the raindrops?

That sounded almost like song lyric, spoken aloud. But he chose to ignore that and simply raise a hand in greeting, entirely too fed up with all the strange happenings of the day to really show any fear or concern.

"Hello." he said, waving. "Who are you?"

The boy in the sky froze, before suddenly jerking up to his feet. He was a tall, lithesome fellow, wearing a rubbery black raincoat that was perhaps more like a poncho with sleeves, carrying an umbrella in his right hand. At his hip hung a white mask, like a goalie's mask in hockey (Izuku and his mother watched the olympics whenever they came around, excited to see all the amazing Quirks on display) decorated with a painted-on rainbow over the mouth-holes.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" the boy proclaimed, falling from the sky with a dull thud and landing on his feet, rising up and brandishing a black umbrella in his right hand. "I forgot to announce my presence sir, a hundred apologies!"

"You are... forgiven?" Izuku replied, blinking twice again. "Wait... um... who are you exactly?"

The boy clapped a hand to his forehead, loud enough to make Izuku wince, before bowing deeply at the waist with one arm crossed over his stomach. He held this stance for a long moment, before straightening up again and bowing his head before speaking.

"I am so sorry, sir." he said. "I am Blackmore, sir. Former aid and bodyguard to President Valentine, sir, before I... died, sir. I spent some time floating in an abyss, sir, with nothing around me. It was quite calm, actually, very relaxing. Then a figure appeared before me, sir, very much like President Valentine's Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, sir. It touched a hand to my head, and I knew then who you are, sir. It then punched me in the chest, sir, and I found myself somewhere else entirely."

"You..." Izuku closed his eyes for a second. "I... you... okay. So you were... dead?"

"Yes, sir." replied Blackmore, nodding politely.

"Somebody killed you?" Izuku guessed.

"Yes, sir, a pair of men, sir, and a young woman named Lucy Steel, sir." Blackmore explained. "The woman shot me, sir, many times."

Izuku stared for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Okay..." he said. "So... what do you want?"

"I want for nothing, sir." Blackmore replied. "I know only that I must serve you as you please, sir, in anything you require. I was President Valentine's man, sir, and now I shall be yours. Sorry, sir, I should not be presumptuous, sir. I shall be your man, sir, if it pleases you, sir."

Izuku sighed, glancing all around at the street again. He wasn't sure what to do, not at all; Blackmore seemed to be a nice fellow, though the way he kept calling him sir and apologizing made him feel a little strange. It was dually empowering and yet also guilt-inducing; it was obvious Blackmore simply wanted to serve. So Izuku nodded.

"Alright... just, um... follow me." Izuku said. "And, uh, could you use your umbrella?"

"Of course, sir!" Blackmore popped the umbrella open, showing Izuku that it had a strangely thick central stem. "Gather close, sir, I'm so sorry I did not consider getting you under cover sooner, sir. A hundred apologies, sir."

"It's fine..." Izuku replied, before leading Blackmore to his home.

When he arrived, looking a drowned rat, with a pale young man with a long blonde ponytail beside him, his ever-adaptable and loving mother took one look at them and then nodded.

"Dinner for three, Izuku?" she asked, and Izuku just nodded. "Who's your friend?"

"Actually, ma'am, I am Master Izuku's assistant." Blackmore said, before Izuku could get a word in edgewise. "Blackmore, ma'am, the pleasure is mine."

Blackmore offered Izuku's mother a hand to shake, and she simply looked at it for a moment before smiling a large, maternal smile and taking his hand in her own. She held it in both hands, shaking it for a moment, before Blackmore bowed down again. Izuku stared, as did his mother, and Blackmore took a step back by the door with his umbrella neatly re-folded, the point between his feet and the handle in his hands.

"Izuku, sweetie... is he alright?" Inko Midoriya asked, looking at her son with visible concern in her expression.

Izuku shrugged.

"I... mom, some weird stuff happened today." Izuku admitted.

"Oh, come on dear, you've gotten into all sorts of shenanigans before." Inko replied, smiling. "This can't be anything that bizarre."

"I was saved from certain death by a former president of the United States, before he gave me his Quirk that lets me teleport when I'm between two objects." Izuku declares. "And also a really nice pink coat. Apparently the same President or somebody like him also brought Blackmore over and put him in this world after he spent some time being dead after being shot by a girl in the eighteen-nineties. He also thinks it's his job to be my bodyguard or something."

Inko blinked twice. Her son had inherited the gesture from her, after all.

"Oh." she said, finally. "I see."

**Author's Note**

**This story isn't meant to be taken serious; at least, not that much. This is very much a fun little project for me, something that combines two things I really like. Don't expect deep human drama, please; expect fun battles and semi-comedic banter, and maybe just a touch of intrigue even though even I, your author, don't really have a clue what's going to happen beyond 'Izuku and friends wreck face and get face-wrecked in return'. **

**Also, giving Kirishima a cool friend. He deserves one of those, since Bakugo is sort of an awful person most of the time.**

**Beyond that; here's my favourite Jojo's character of all time; Blackmore! I love Blackmore. A lot. He's awesome, his Stand is cool, he's a very good boy who deserves hugs, and he gets to see Jesus! Who couldn't love somebody like that? Also, we have something major in common, which I won't elaborate on since it's less a confirmed story-detail and more a fan-theory. **

**Beyond that; hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you with the next one!**


	3. Enter Blackmore

Blackmore was a strange young man.

It was hard to say what made him so strange exactly. On the exterior, he seemed a perfectly polite young man, if perhaps a little overly given to apologizing for even the slightest mistake on his part with increasingly impressive and worrying zeal. Izuku was fairly certain Blackmore would have never forgiven himself for even the slightest misstep, had Izuku not specified multiple times that he didn't expect perfection.

The fact that the two had spent approximately an hour together, however, made that behaviour go from curious to concerning. Furthermore, Izuku's mother still wasn't wholly convinced all was well with the boy herself. He seemed overly demure, sitting quietly and eating his food, never once asking for anything. Somewhat like her Izuku, she noted, before her son had begun to train for UA and picked up some self confidence along the way.

Neither Midoriya minded the boy, not at all! He was polite, gentle, and had offered to do the dishes after dinner, having to be outright told to relax and sit down before he stopped trying to at least help Inko with them. She had listened to the two talk, overhearing such words as 'holy corpse' and 'zeppelin', though the latter she possibly misheard. Perhaps the two were discussing a manga? Izuku had always had a passing interest in them, and a few series he collected with some frequency.

She didn't worry about it. Izuku had brought a friend home, a very strange friend with a very strange past, but she was sure the two were exaggerating a touch. It should be noted at this point that Inko Midoriya, for her many great virtues, was not the most wholly observant person, and was perhaps a touch too trusting when it came to her son. He had been able to explain away the many burns and bruises from Bakugo and other children's bullying as the results of roughhousing with other boys, and she had accepted it and moved on.

This Blackmore seemed to be a good boy. And that was enough for her. Even if that mask of his was a little suspect, though she supposed it could have just been part of his prospective hero costume. Or maybe just an item with which he had some emotional attachment. Izuku still slept with an All Might plushie in his bed, after all.

"So I am to remain at home with your mother and assist her with the housework, sir?" Blackmore repeated Izuku's words back at him, and Izuku nodded.

He had just heard one of the most incredible tales in his life, one involving superhuman abilities (not that these were all that unique to him), daring rogues, terrible villains and a heroic man doing all he could to make his country the greatest in the world. It involved the mummified body of Jesus Christ, a horse race across all of the mainland United States, time travelling gunslingers and a man who could turn into a dinosaur. And that was just the parts Blackmore had witnessed and been told about; there was apparently much more he had only heard rumours of, not to mention all the things that had surely happened after his death.

Izuku had then absorbed the information, and then gotten to doing what he did best; planning and worrying about details. Blackmore couldn't just attend school with him; both heroics classes were full, and the chances of him making it into even a general studies course was extremely unlikely. So he needed to figure out what the boy could do. Blackmore had offered to speak to the headmaster personally, having been an adult before being thrown through time and space and reverted to a teenager, but Izuku had disregarded that offer. As if the headmaster of UA would believe a story about time travel, the resurrection the dead, and inter-dimensional mirrors!

So the very next day, as Izuku attended school, Blackmore took a little walk. Inko Midoriya had been most accommodating, setting up a futon for him to sleep on in the living room, but he had business to attend to involving UA. It was still raining quite heavily; Blackmore had marvelled at the television in the Midoriya's home, before being shown that it could also predict the weather ahead of time and afterwards regarding it as some sort of Stand power. Perhaps it had something to do with Mrs. Midoriya? He had seen her floating things towards herself, and her home had been filled with all manner of wonders.

Hers must be a truly powerful Stand indeed, he considered. His master's mother truly was an impressive woman. All the more reason to consider himself lucky. Izuku Midoriya was just as kind and polite as President Valentine had been, even more so in some ways, and his mother simply had to be some form of saint. There was no other explanation for her kindness and generosity, except that she bore some manner of divine blood! Blackmore resolved then to not just keep his master safe, but also to safeguard his master's mother. It was only appropriate to protect his master's family as well.

Blackmore wasn't walking on the rain any more. He had done that the night before to ensure he would stay in pace with his master, though he had embarrassed himself by not introducing himself until after he had thoroughly spooked him. A shameful display, one he would regret for the rest of his days. Now, however, he had somewhere to be, so he donned his mask and promptly disintegrated into liquid.

He was a sight to see, a stream of black flowing through the sky like the churning rapids of the mighty Mississippi River, coursing above the streets of... he wasn't sure what the city was called, actually, but he was certainly making a mockery of its roads. He knew UA's general location, and it was hard to miss a campus the size of a small city in and of itself, especially from above. He moved through the rain, making his way up above the central building before descending to about thirty feet off the ground. He noted the large picture window in the side of the main structure, through which he could see a large office.

He made his way to the window and reformed into a young man, his mask still on as he stood on frozen raindrops, gently tapping his knuckles against the glass to draw the attention of the man in the chair.

It was not, he quickly learned, a man in the chair. It was a small creature, a bear or rodent or perhaps a weasel? Regardless of its species, it took note of him and seemed to sigh, before turning back around and doing something on the desk. One of the window panels slid up, an opening large enough for Blackmore to slip through, and he did so with a single step before descending to the ground, touching down with a gentle tap.

"A thousand apologies for the unprecedented arrival, sir, I wasn't certain if I would be welcome inside your building." Blackmore said, bowing his head. "I can see you are a clever sort of creature; I would be honoured to meet the Headmaster of the facility if you would happen to know where he is."

Blackmore could accept intelligent animals. He had heard tales of animals with Stands before, ones that gained intelligence nearly identical to that of a human, and simply assumed this curious bear-rat-weasel creature was one of them. Besides, in his brief stint of wandering before locating his master the previous night, he had seen all manner of curious individuals with animalistic aspects walking the streets. Perhaps this fellow was just one of those?

"Blackmore?" the creature squeaked, giving the young man in question quite a fright. "Ah, yes, young mister Midoriya said you might be coming along!"

Blackmore reached up and pulled off his mask, deactivating his Catch the Rainbow and allowing the rain outside to resume falling, a sudden downpour before settling back into its much more steady fall. He took a long breath, happy to be free of the mask. Ever since he had arrived he had found it to be solid, no longer a manifestation of his Stand but instead a simple mask, made of painted and lacquered wood. It was smooth to the touch on both sides, and still attached itself to his face by some unknown, almost mystical means, but it still looked exactly his Stand as it had been.

The rat-bear-weasel creature took a long look at Blackmore and smiled, nodding once as if some question he had asked had been answered, though he had never voiced a single one. Blackmore offered a hand for the creature to shake, which it took on its hand-paw (Blackmore, it should be noted, had little classical education in any matters not related to the act of service and assassination) and accepted with a firm shake.

"So, young Mister Blackmore, how can I help you?" the creature asked. "I am Nezu, the lovable headmaster of UA! Am I a bear? A mouse? Something else? Nobody knows!"

Blackmore, quite unsure how to reply to that particular greeting, simply smiled and allowed the Headmaster his eccentricities. The fellow was a bear-mouse-weasel hybrid, after all, he could be permitted a few behavioural tics. Blackmore was well aware he had those in spades. It was a crucial part of the reason he had come to serve President Valentine.

"I would like to enrol in this academy, sir." Blackmore replied, bowing his head again. "I must be near Master Midoriya so I might serve and protect him, as is my duty as his aide, sir. I cannot do this if I am barred from the grounds of your school, however, and I am aware that in this form I am unable to serve as a staff member, sir. Therefore, sir, I must throw myself upon your mercy and hope to be accepted in spite of my lack of history in this place."

Nezu (Blackmore thought it impolite to continue referring to the man-bear-mouse as a creature, after all) placed a paw under his chin and pondered this for a moment, before gesturing to the chair across his desk.

"Please, young Blackmore, take a seat." Nezu said. "I would like to call upon a coworker to weigh in on this discussion, if that is alright with you. You may be familiar with his name; he is known to most of the world as All Might?"

Blackmore did know this name, as one plastered all over his master's bedroom walls on posters and pictures of all sorts. He was a hero, apparently, akin to President Valentine but without any political power. He was also openly known to the world to possess a Stand, or 'Quirk' as they were called in this world, though nobody knew what it was called.

"That is very much alright with me, sir." Blackmore nodded, sitting down and relaxing a little in his chair, though he remained in a ready stance to burst into action if something happened. Without rain, his Stand was useless. However, this did not render him in any way defenceless; he was trained in hand to hand combat, and his umbrella was not simply a means by which he could shield himself from rain.

Nezu pressed a few buttons on a pad on his desk before speaking into a curious circular black device, apparently summoning All Might from a distance. Blackmore found this most intriguing; was this Nezu's Stand power, to project his voice across great distances? Quite useful in his role as a Headmaster, no doubt. If only Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap had been able to lend President Valentine the same ability... Blackmore swallowed down his grief at his greatest failure, however, and awaited All Might with some trepidation.

**Author's Note:**

**I really love writing Blackmore. He's a good way to play around with my favourite writing style, one where I get to point out bizarre details and occasionally break the fourth wall indirectly since he himself is just bizarre enough a character to make you wonder just what goes on his head. His eccentricities are fun to play with, and though I don't want to spoil anything, I look forward to his future interactions with many other characters. Additionally, Catch the Rainbow is an awesome Stand and I love the idea behind it, and the song that inspired it. **

**Nezu is another fun character; in my opinion, he's always a step or two ahead, meaning when he's able to be playful even in situations where he probably shouldn't be. The guy's Quirk is literally just having a big brain and being a genius, he's definitely got a plan for everything. **

**Inko Midoriya is the best and worst mom at the same time; bless her heart, she's kind as can be, but she's also not very observant, extremely emotional and generally just sort of lacking as a mother in a lot of ways. But when it comes to soft hugs and making everybody's favourite broccoli-boy feel better, I doubt there's anybody better.**

**Next chapter: Blackmore tries to go to school! Izuku actually goes to school! Villains plot and do villainous things! And more! **

**Hope you enjoyed it, and have a great day!**


	4. Power Vested

"You're electing a class president."

And with those five words from Aizawa, the class went nuts. It seemed like every single person present raised their hand, eager to take on the duty of a class president, and each had a very different reason for it. Yugo Aoyama wanted the job because Class 1-A deserved a shining beacon to represent them, and who among them shone as brightly as he did? Katsuki Bakugo wanted the job because he believed himself better than any and all of his classmates, even if that shitty cheater Deku had beaten him just yesterday. And Minoru Mineta wanted the job because somebody had to create a rule about maximum permissible skirt length, dang it, and if he had to do it himself than so be it!

Tenya Iida, being a man of culture, a learned young man well educated in the intricacies of government, leadership and otherwise managing groups, raised his hand as well. He was trained for a role such as this, practically raised to be class president and, eventually, the leader of a hero team like his beloved older brother. He took a long look around the room, taking in his fellows. He picked out from the crowd five people whose hands stayed down, a full fourth of the class.

Shoto Todoroki, ever distant and withdrawn, who merely watched with mismatched eyes as his classmates clamoured for the position he cared nothing for.

Momo Yaoyorozu, who looked about half a moment from lifting her hand, though she continued to hesitate. Tenya wondered what that was about; she was just as well educated as he was, and likely just as appropriate for the role. Why did she not volunteer?

Shoji Mezo, who seemed to be observing the class just like Tenya. Shoji was an imposing figure, with his six arms and his massive build; Tenya supposed he wasn't one for the spotlight. Tenya could understand that.

Tokoyami Fumikage, whose hands were on his desk and whose eyes were narrowed, his avian head bowed in a sign distinct displeasure. No doubt the noise and chaos frustrated the introverted boy, something Tenya could certainly sympathize with.

And finally... Izuku Midoriya, who seemed to be too busy scribbling down notes in his binder to pay any attention to what was happening around him. Tenya wondered what he was so focused on, and also envied him in part for the ease with which he ignored the chaos surrounding him.

Tenya raised his own hand, but before he could speak there was a sudden sound, and Izuku stood up with one hand raised. The class became quieter, not going completely silent but managing to lose at least some of its volume. Izuku was sheathed in that strange blue and pink afterimage, a ghostly visage layered over his own with tall ears and strange stitching all over his arms and legs. He placed a hand on his desk, a firm smacking sound ringing out loud and clear. Had his hair gotten longer, Tenya wondered? It seemed just a little more lengthy than it had been the day prior. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"We should vote on it." Izuku declared, voice more clear than Tenya had ever heard it before. "Democratically. Each student puts forward their name, and whoever gets the most votes wins."

"Everybody'll just vote for themselves!" Denki Kaminari complained.

"No." Izuku shook his head, gesturing to the same five classmates Tenya had also observed remaining silent. "There are people who don't want the job. And some of us definitely aren't suitable. So we'll hold a preliminary round, where anybody who can get more than one vote moves on. And after that, you vote for your preferred candidate. That way there can only be ten candidates. First place becomes president, second place gets Vice President, and those two pick the rest of their cabinet."

"Why does Deku sound like a politician?" Ochaco Uraraka asked, leaning toward Tenya.

"I have no idea." Tenya replied truthfully, before also standing up and raising his voice. "I second Midoriya's motion!"

"Third." Kyoka Jirou said, standing up and raising her hand as well, to the surprise of her classmates. "It's really noisy in here, and you guys aren't getting anything done by shouting."

The motion passed, mostly because nobody knew what to do with an Izuku who actually spoke up on matters outside of Quirks, and as such the first round of voting began. And Tenya felt despair when, in the preliminary rounds, he received zero votes. Izuku, meanwhile, was equally horrified to learn that he had received no less than four.

It ended up being a landslide victory for Izuku, though he couldn't say why. Nine votes for him in total, with four in favour of Momo making her his vice-president. The other three candidates received the remaining seven split amongst themselves, leaving Denki Kaminari in particular quite sad, Izuku didn't really pay attention to that, however; he was too busy suffering a minor panic attack as a result of his new position and authority.

Class president.

He was class president.

He, Izuku Midoriya, a pariah for most of his life up to that point, had been elected class president.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

Izuku stood stock still in front of the whole class, before panic overtook him and he grabbed Momo by the arm, muttering something about how he needed to speak to her before dragging her out into the hallway.

"I CAN'T DO THIS." he declared, voice just a little louder than was perhaps necessary, and he flinched before trying again. "I... I can't do this, I-I've never been a leader before..."

He realized after a moment that Momo looked just as concerned as he did, frozen stock still and muttering the words 'four votes' over and over while rocking back and forth on her heels. This led to him realizing that they were both completely and utterly screwed, insofar as being leaders went. Izuku had no sense of self-worth or pride, and Momo clearly suffered from some other complex that was going to make this much harder than it needed to be.

"Neither have I..." Momo admitted, voice much quieter than his. "M-maybe we should... erm... step down?"

Izuku blinked when he felt something inside of him react almost violently to that idea, a sudden ache building in his chest like burning anger at the mere suggestion of surrender. He put a hand to his forehead, not realizing yet that Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was forming around him like a ghostly suit of armour. He felt faint, light-headed, the whole world around him slipping away.

'_You must fight on, Izuku,_' a voice spoke into his mind, a familiar baritone he knew to somehow be that of Funny Valentine. '_Your classmates chose you as their representative. They have faith in you; faith you must return. This is the way of a true leader!'_

"I'm not a leader..." Izuku protested, leaning against the wall as the world spun around him. "I'm... I'm just... Deku..."

'_Nonsense,'_ Funny retorted, his ethereal voice sounding almost bemused. '_When the situation grows dire, you are always eager to seize control and intervene. You look out for your fellows, no matter the cost to yourself, and they know this simply by watching you. You are driven and even charismatic at times. But most of all; you have the heart of a hero. And they recognize this, even if you do not.'_

Izuku gasped as the world steadied itself, and found himself on the floor, hand on his head and Momo standing above him, offering him a hand and frantically asking him if he was alright. He took it, finding her skin impressively soft and smooth, and she helped him up to his feet. He took a deep breath, bracing himself against the wall for a moment, before swallowing.

"We can't give up our positions." he declared, voice much more steady than it had been before. "Our classmates chose us for these roles. They believe in us. And maybe that means we need to believe in ourselves a little more."

Momo looked as if she were going to protest, and Izuku put a hand on her shoulder, pressing against her with a little of his own weight and leaning on her. He met her gaze, staring into her eyes resolutely.

"Are you with me, Momo?" he asked, and to her own surprise Momo nodded once.

Izuku smiles and released her shoulder, before taking a step back and gesturing to the door.

"You want to make a dramatic entrance?" he asked, suddenly sounding much more casual and even a little nervous. "I haven't had much chance to practice with my new ability, so I thought maybe you could give me a hand and we could skip all the awkwardness of going back through the door…"

Momo stared at him for a second, before smiling. Izuku smiled too, before suddenly removing his blazer.

"I need to put you between two objects," he explained. "So I'm going to drape this over your head and you'll pop out between the wall and Aoyama's desk."

Momo said nothing, simply taking a step forward and letting Izuku raise his blazer and drop it on her head. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap appeared on his body again, and she closed her eyes only to hear people gasping as she appeared back in class. Izuku materialized a moment later, his blazer still missing, but he appeared with a dramatic bow a split second after sliding into existence.

"We humbly accept your nominations, and promise to do our best as your representatives." he declared, voice steady. "Thank you for having so much faith in us."

"Yes…" Momo agreed, bowing as well. "Thank you for your trust."

"Midoriya, where did your blazer go?" Kaminari asked a moment later, prompting Izuku to remember he was in fact missing part of his uniform.

"I… I'll go get it…" he slinked out the door again, grabbing his blazer from the floor and throwing it back on himself, buttoning it carefully before stepping back inside and closing the door as quietly as he could.

Halfway across the school, All Might and Nezu were standing outside, watching Blackmore give an impromptu demonstration of his Quirk, or 'Stand' as he was given to calling it. It's name was also peculiar; Catch the Rainbow. Apparently the boy had named it for a song he once heard his mother sing when he was very small. Indeed, it was an impressive ability; a sort of dual-Quirk, both allowing him to freeze water droplets in the air but also letting him turn himself into liquid, a form which in turn allowed him to streak through the rain at high speeds. It was a most impressive power, one that Nezu was greatly impressed by.

Blackmore came to a halt, allowing the rain to resume falling, before he landed before the pair with his umbrella opened over his head. The umbrella too was a curious thing; was it possible that Blackmore could turn anything he touched to liquid, Nezu wondered? Or was it limited purely to his own belongings somehow? Catch the Rainbow was a power that demanded further exploration… but first, Nezu needed to make a decision.

To allow Blackmore to remain, and join young Midoriya in his classes? Or to keep them separate and force them to develop independently? It was a hard choice to make, Nezu being curious about what each would do to them… but according to Blackmore's own testimony, his appearance in this world was orchestrated by Izuku's new ability, or at least in part. As such, Nezu worried that if they were to stay separate… would that perhaps have some effect on Blackmore's health? Could the boy disappear as quickly as he'd come without Izuku and this Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap?

Nezu wasn't willing to risk it. He looked up at All Might, whose face was locked in its eternal grin, and nodded once.

"Very well, young Blackmore… we shall have to test you further in your academics, but for now, consider yourself a student of UA." Nezu declared, offering the boy a paw to shake. Blackmore took it without hesitation, even if he did have to stoop down a touch to actually grasp the proffered limb. The two shook on it, and All Might smiled as he took Blackmore's hand as well.

"Welcome to UA, young man." he said, voice naturally booming. "It will be delightful seeing you learn alongside young Midoriya."

All Might was rather excited about the prospect of his protege having a friend like Blackmore. It was obvious to him that the boy was a good one, very polite and soft spoken, much like Izuku but with an obvious increase in his confidence. It almost reminded All Might of himself and Sir Nighteye, his only real sidekick… All Might stopped thinking about that as quickly as possible. The memory still stung.

"Thank you very much, sir." Blackmore said, bowing his head. "And you too, headmaster. I am honoured to be accepted into such a-"

Blackmore's words were cut off a moment later, when UA lit up with the sounds of sirens. Nezu, clearly startled, adjusted quickly and looked at All Might, nodding once.

"Go and find the source." the headmaster ordered, before looking at Blackmore. "Your introduction to your class unfortunately must wait, young Blackmore. Something has triggered our alarm system."

"I see." Blackmore replied, nodding. "Shall I also investigate, sir?"

"The staff will handle this." Nezu said, shaking his head. "No, you and I will head inside. I will direct you to your new classroom once this has been settled."

Blackmore nodded, following the headmaster back inside the school.

**Author's Note:**

**Izuku being elected class president is pretty typical of fanfictions, honestly. However, Izuku being elected class president and understanding what that means? I like to think I've touched on something important here. Also, a more confident Izuku is, I find, usually an Izuku who is more interesting to watch. Usually; there are exceptions. **

**Momo being VP is just sort of universally accepted at this point, and there's nothing much to be said about it. **

**Blackmore is part of the class now; yay! He's going to be interesting, and yes; he will likely be replacing somebody else. Who is it? I cannot say, though it's almost definitely who you're thinking of. Sorry, grape boy; nobody likes you, and I don't have the time to put you through a redemption arc with all the other nonsense I've got planned. Maybe For Want of a Grape will finally get updated again. I doubt it, it's been like four months, but Shinji and Warhammer 40k has multi-year hiatuses so who says miracles aren't real?**

**Plugging two good stories there, by the way. The second honestly exceeds good and rises to 'this is canon now' levels of awesome. That aside, hope you guys enjoyed this and I promise more action will be happening in the next one. **

**Because we're going to the USJ. **

**Spoilers. **

**Oops.**


	5. Any Resemblances to Individuals

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be, huh~?"

Blackmore, a quiet and reserved young man, was finding the high-volume of Katsuki Bakugo quite intolerable, particularly when it was directly next to his ear. He sighed and looked out the window, away from the boy's leering face and the strange, sugary scent that seemed to waft from his hands. In all honesty Blackmore was less annoyed and more concerned; had he done something to offend Katsuki? Was there some misdeed he had committed that had resulted in the boy being angered by his mere presence?

"Blackmore." he replied, voice soft. "Roland Blackmore."

"You an American or something?" Katsuki asked next, to which Blackmore nodded. "Great. So you're some sort of exchange student then… eh, fuck it. You look a little tougher than the last extra, at least."

Blackmore said nothing, staring out at the landscape as it rushed by. It boggled his mind that this much territory could be used for a school; when Blackmore had gone to school, it had been about the size of a small house, with some twelve students attending. That had been before things had changed, before the accident and his exile, before he found purpose at the side of President Valentine.

And long before his death.

The fact that he had died confused Blackmore somewhat. It was strange to know that he had, at one point, left the mortal coil. His soul had escaped his body, his mind had ceased function, his heart had stopped beating. And yet, in spite of that, here he stood, being harassed by a young Japanese boy some two hundred years in the future after his death, in a world where nothing worked the way it had when he had walked it last.

Yes… it was a curious dilemma. At least he had Master Izuku, he supposed, and the fact that his master was willing to listen to his concerns at all was quite something to him. President Valentine, for all his kindness in hiring and caring for a defective thing such as himself, was not an easy man to get close to. His was a higher purpose, and to him men like Blackmore, Disco and Soundman were simply means to an end. Blackmore had been happy being a means to an end. But Master Izuku being a much more open and kind leader was something that made Blackmore happier than he'd ever been before.

Also, he was learning to be a hero. That was something quite interesting in and of itself. Apparently 'hero' was now a profession, akin to a soldier or an officer of the law. Blackmore wasn't wholly certain how to feel about that; if a hero was simply a working man, was he truly heroic? Was not a hero one who fought for something greater, like President Valentine? What was to stop a hero from becoming just another sort of job, like a bank clerk or a farmer? What made a hero a hero in a world where a hero was a working man?

Blackmore wasn't sure. But he expected he would likely find out, given that he was apparently going to learn how to be one. He sat in his bench, next to a somewhat sullen girl apparently named Kyoka, though he was informed that he would have to call her Jiro. Apparently first names were special in this country, something reserved for friends and family. That wasn't actually all that strange to Blackmore; he had been referred to by his last name for years.

"Hey." the girl spoke up, catching his attention. "Yo. Blackmore, right?"

Blackmore looked at her, blinking. Katsuki… or, Bakugo, he supposed, had ducked back into his own bench next to a muscular boy with spiky red hair. Kyoka Jiro was a smaller girl, slender and pale with purple hair. Blackmore stared for a moment, noting that she froze under his gaze and seemed almost shocked for a second, before she shook her head and continued speaking.

"Are you… are you related to Richie Blackmore?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Famous American rockstar-type? You have the exact same last name, and I just thought since you were also from America…"

"I…" Blackmore pondered that question for a second. He didn't know what a rockstar was, unfortunately, nor did he know all that much about his family. Due to his… defect, he had been something of a shameful secret for his parents to hide, kept out of sight and mind of the rest of his family until the incident had occurred. However… he did remember a grandfather.

"I had a grandfather named… Richard Blackmore." he said, nodding once. "Yes, my grandfather's name was Richard. I-I do not believe he was a rock-star of any sort. He was a farmer, as far as I know."

"Maybe further back?" Jiro pressed, and Blackmore shook his head. He didn't know. He presumed not, considering most of the references these people made were from after his time alive. He had recognized Lincoln's name, and a few other presidents, but beyond that… nothing much rang a bell. Chances were this 'Richie Blackmore' fellow had lived long after Blackmore, likely a descendant of his. His brother had wed, as far as he knew. Chances were Blackmore was related to this Richie somehow.

"Wait…" Jiro held up a hand. "Didn't you say your… Quirk was named Catch the Rainbow? Like, the song by Rainbow? Richie Blackmore's band with Ronnie James Dio?"

Dio. Blackmore blinked when she said the name. Diego Brando, another enemy and also sometimes agent of President Valentine's. Had Diego Brando survived the events of the Steel Ball Run after Blackmore's death? There was a curious question, but not one he could answer. Looking through books in the library (he was able to read Japanese, somehow) had taught him that in this world, the Steel Ball Run either hadn't happened or had been a very minor event, likely the former. President Valentine had not existed either, curiously enough.

But did Diego Brando still exist? What of Disco and Mike O, and even perhaps Blackmore himself? Had President Valentine simply died in the desert, rather than finding that fated piece of the Holy Corpse? Where had the world shifted so radically from his own? What had been the great change that saw so much end up so differently?

Blackmore did not know. And that did not worry him, not as much as perhaps it should. But then again, Blackmore did not think it his place to think. He thought it his place to serve, and serve he would. No matter what.

"Master Valentine named my Stand." Blackmore declared. "It was named for… no. I shall not say, not unless ordered. That is my secret to keep, and I apologize for wasting your time."

Jiro cocked her head to the side, before chuckling. Blackmore blinked again, and she looked away.

"Alright, keep your secrets, mystery boy." she said, obviously amused. "I'm not gonna force you to talk."

Whilst Blackmore attempted to discern the whims of the opposite gender, a fearsome task for any boy no matter their age, Izuku was being grilled on the strange (and attractive, according to Mina Ashido) foreigner who had rather suddenly replaced Mineta Minoru as their twentieth student. The smaller boy had been shuffled away with a surprising swiftness, before Blackmore had been dropped in his desk and Izuku had realized that his life was simply going to stop being simple now, thank you for asking.

The fact that Blackmore still called him 'Master Midoriya' and was exceedingly polite to anyone and everyone who gathered around him was not helping matters in the slightest. At that point, Izuku had given up on convincing Blackmore to just call him 'Midoriya' or something of the sort. Apparently his title was here to stay, and neither hell nor high water could convince Blackmore to drop the honorific and treat him normally.

"So, he's American, right?" Tsuyu asked, cocking her head to the side. "Or maybe British?"

"American." Izuku replied, nodding. "He's from… erm… Virginia."

"_Blackmore was born in Pennsylvania, but I suppose it's close enough." _Funny added in his mind, Izuku practically able to see the man nodding in his mind's eye. "_Just remember that he is an exchange student. Your headmaster and teachers were all quite insistent on that."_

"Man, I wonder what happened to get him swapped with Mineta so quickly." Kaminari added from behind. "He just showed up so fast, it was crazy."

"I bet it has something to do with All Might." Hanta Sero interjected. "He spent a lot of time in America, right? Maybe Blackmore has something to do with a hero he worked with, or something like that."

Izuku didn't say anything. The less he connected himself to Blackmore, the better things were. He had at least managed to convince the boy to act as normally as possible in front of his classmates, which mostly meant not constantly standing beside Izuku with his umbrella in his hands. He was wearing his black coat and hood again, deciding that those and his mask would be his hero costume; at least, for now. He was open to change, however, something Izuku was grateful for.

The bus rolled to a halt in front of an enormous glass and steel dome, one Izuku recognized immediately as he stepped down off the bus. Unforeseen Simulation Joint; the USJ for short. Also known as Universal Studios Japan to several of the online forums he inhabited when he was bored and needed something to do. His hands folded behind his back as he stood waiting, shoulders squared and chin up. Valentine had been drilling him in appropriate posture for a president. A true leader stood straight and true, making it clear he was in charge. Hands behind the back in peaceful situations to display trust, hands in front during more hostile engagements to make it clear violence was an option you were willing to consider.

Eyes open, no squinting. Face kept even, neutral expression at all times. Only exceptions were smiles when greeting someone or subtle frowns to display discontent with something being said. Invite respect, project authority. Hostility is the tool of the lesser man, the tyrant and the coward. A true leader, a true man, should be able to make it clear he is in charge with a single look. That was the mark of a great president, Funny said.

Izuku hadn't known any of this before, but he certainly did now. His classmates seemed to notice the change, several staring outright for several seconds before looking away. Izuku didn't look back; he had to stay focused, or his veneer would likely crack. It was a thin line he was walking, but he believed he had his balance.

That was Thirteen walking toward them. THE Thirteen, Ochaco Uraraka's favourite hero. Don't fanboy, he told himself. Don't fanboy, don't fanboy, don't fanboy… DON'T YOU DARE FANBOY.

Thirteen nodded at him. At him. Izuku Midoriya. Deku. The useless one, the one nobody liked until he showed them what he was. His eyes went wide for a split second, before he felt a gentle mental prod from Funny and forced his expression to even out again. Mission accomplished. He set his jaw and smiled, bowing at the waist and bringing his arms to his sides. This was something he had explained to Funny; bowing was akin to shaking hands. It was something Funny was unsure of but at least seemed to understand.

They were headed inside now. Good. Hands at the sides again, expression neutral. Don't trip on the stairs. Don't trip on the stairs. Made it inside. Holy crap, he noted, this place was huge. The dome was big from the outside, but on the inside the highest point was at least two hundred feet up at its highest point. He let his gaze wander, taking in the various zones the actual USJ was divided into. There was an enclosed area, a city-like sector billowing with smoke, a large body of water with a boat in the middle…

And on the central platform, a gathering of roguish individuals, whom Izuku realized after a moment were villains of some sort. But… surely they were hired actors of some kind? Fake villains, for the sake of their exercises? But when Eraserhead and Thirteen saw them, they both looked surprised, before Eraserhead dropped into a fighting stance, pulling down his goggles.

From amidst the crowd stepped a tall, lanky figure, pale and clad in loose black, with his face and arm covered in what looked like severed hands connected by wires, or some sort of narrow tubing. Izuku's eyes went wide, and he took an involuntary step back. The figure grinned a large, sickening grin before raising a hand in greeting.

"Good afternoon, prospective heroes!" he called, voice echoing through the whole dome, likely enhanced by some other villain's Quirk, or just his own natural speaking ability. "We are the League of Villains, and we are here today for one reason and one reason alone; to kill the fake known as All Might!"

**Author's Note:**

**And here we are folks; the USJ arc. Don't worry, I've got some fun stuff planned for the fighting here. Izuku's going to abuse both his powers in tandem, some funky things are gonna happen, and Blackmore's going to have a whale of a time being the scariest thing on two legs in the rain. Or just the scariest thing in the rain in general, honestly. **

**Kyoka is best girl don't me or I'll throw hands I swear.**

**Funny's gonna be teaching Izuku a lot of stuff here. Obviously not everything; Funny made mistakes, and I figure a smart guy like him would know that. But Izuku still has a lot to learn, and Funny **_**was **_**probably the, I dunno, second most successful Jojo's villain? After Pucci, I figure, since Pucci mostly won. Maybe Kars, but, y'know… he got Tesla'd and his brain stopped working. **

**Same for my boy Magenta. Speaking of Magenta, he'll have something to do with this story, so be on the lookout for that. Same goes for a lot of Part Seven characters, at least the ones who worked for Funny. **

**Hope you guys liked this, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	6. Reprehensible Actions on a Low Budget

**The Shipwreck Zone**

Izuku was not on a boat, though he had no doubts that was where he was intended to be. Izuku was on the shoreline, watching from the shadow of a tree as a band of villainous individuals circled the boat. He was not aboard the boat because while he had been teleported to it by a man wreathed in purple fog who had a powerful warp Quirk, he had used Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap to teleport away from the water and to the shoreline.

As a result, there was only one person actually aboard the boat; one Tsuyu Asui, the frog-girl Izuku knew almost nothing about. She had voted for him, he supposed, given that she had told him as much while they were aboard the bus on their way here. Apparently she had thought him more mature than most of their classmates, and more self assured than Momo, her other favourite candidate.

Tsuyu Asui spoke plainly, declaring her opinions and beliefs without any sort of sugar-coating. Izuku respected that, and as such he resolved to rescue her; if she needed rescuing. It appeared as though she did, however, given that the boat she was on was itself completely surrounded by aquatic villains. Izuku measured the distance in his mind, grabbing a fistful of his coat and adjusting it slightly, before swallowing back any trepidation and moving.

He disappeared into thin air, his coat coming with him. It was Valentine's coat, though his mother had done a bit of work on it to shrink it down a tad and make it wearable for a fifteen year old boy. She had also died it purple, a colour that didn't clash so heavily with Izuku's green hair. It was still large on him, which was exactly what he needed.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was a deceptively simple power, that had changed somewhat when he had received it from Funny Valentine. It's former Ability was easy to explain; it could teleport objects and people that were between two different surfaces. The surfaces needed to be large enough to fully cover the object or person from both ends, meaning Izuku could teleport with the coat. Normally this only moved the object between two surfaces, in his case his body beneath the coat, but as it was large enough for him to fold it into itself, it would teleport along with him.

This trick hadn't worked for Funny Valentine, since D4C was technically a separate entity from himself and therefore its powers were its own. But D4C was now a part of Izuku's body, enhanced by the power of One For All (though Izuku did not know this just yet) and thereby capable of greater things than it had been before. Though Izuku doubted he would ever gain access to a power as great as that of Funny's D4C-Love Train, he was certain he would be able to strengthen this new Quirk somehow. Likely through training. Training made everything better.

Izuku materialized behind Tsuyu, from the space between the door into the boat's cabin and the actual doorframe. It was a tight squeeze considering the door was only a little open, but he managed to make it work with some twisting and wriggling. He popped out and hit the deck with a dull thud, grunting at the impact before standing up.

"Hey, Asui." he said, nodding at the girl, who had reacted to his appearance by dropping low to the ground and extending her tongue. A logical response, at least for a frog-girl. "You wanna get out of here?"

"That sounds like a plan." she agreed, nodding slowly when she realized it was him. "Can you use your Quirk to teleport us, gero?"

She ended the sentence with a strange ribbit sound, which gave Izuku pause before he reached up and unbuttoned the only button on his coat he ever bothered to do up. He pulled it off, shaking it a little, before nodding to Tsuyu, who was still crouched. She closed her eyes and he dropped his coat on top of her, D4C surrounding him in its strange ghost armour as she disappeared under the coat, appearing under the same tree had had warped from. Izuku slung the coat back on and surrounded himself in its fabric, appearing beside her with a dramatic bow.

"Now... I'm going to try and help Aizawa-Sensei." he informed her, looking up at the courtyard where he could hear battle raging. "Those guys in the water might spot you if you stay here, so try and make a break for it. Head for the entrance, it should be safe there if the fog-guy left."

Tsuyu nodded, apparently agreeing with his idea, and began hopping on all fours towards the entrance, skirting the edge of the courtyard. Izuku, meanwhile, swallowed, and wondered for a moment where Blackmore had ended up, along with the rest of his class.

**The Downpour Zone**

Blackmore was on his knees in the midst of a rainstorm. His mask was in one hand, his umbrella in the other, and his eyes were shut. His anger was palpable, rolling off him in waves that could be felt like pressure by those around him. There were many around him, all of them clad in roughshod costumes and carrying themselves with a rather menacing aura. At least, an aura that attempted to be menacing.

Blackmore had seen Funny Valentine angry. Menacing was beneath him at this point; when his former master was angry, the earth itself seemed to shake as the winds came to a halt. The world stopped turning and the sun halted in the sky, all as Blackmore's president turned his gaze to the one who had inspired in him such fury. If looks could kill, the men would be gone, reduced to atoms and dispelled in the wind. Blackmore likely would have swept up the pile.

These men did not scare him. They annoyed him, they angered him, but they did not scare him. They never could.

One, a tall fellow with a face somewhere between that of a spider and a man, laughed when he saw Blackmore rise, umbrella in hand and braced against the ground to help him up. This was the downpour zone, where he and his fellows had been assigned. They were to kill any students who entered their area and collect the bodies, for some unknown reason. The spider-man's name was Hachi, though his friends and enemies both called him Mandible.

He was a low-level crook; his Quirk let him spew high-tensile webbing from his mouth, a useful ability, but it also gave him a hideously deformed face that scared children and unsettled adults. He had spent most of his life as a pariah, falling in with the worst sorts of people and discovering that he relished in inflicting pain on others, the same way they inflicted pain on him. He clenched his fists when he saw the boy look up, noting his handsome face. He would have to be sure to disfigure this little snot a bit, he decided.

"Get out of my way, please." Blackmore said aloud, voice low and menacing. The villains, all six of them, laughed and jeered, one taking a step forward. All around them, the rain poured, and Blackmore felt his frustration build.

Hachi smirked and darted forward, stopping inches from the boy and hissing in that spider-like way that scared so many of his prospective victims. The boy didn't even flinch. Instead, he raised a single hand, wrapped up in a black leather glove, and snapped his fingers.

Hachi felt... different. Something was wrong, something had changed. He turned his head, and gasped as holes opened up on his mandibles, one of them being torn off instantly by some unknown force. Behind him, a woman screamed, and Blackmore took a step back. The rain, Hachi realized, the rain had stopped moving! What kind of Quirk was this?

"My apologies." The boy put a mask on his face, a weird thing like a hockey-goalie would wear, but painted with a rainbow across the mouth. "But I have business to attend to. I recommend you remain still, or my Stand will tear you to shreds. Water is a harsh thing when it is frozen in place."

Hachi realized with horror that this kid was just walking through the frozen raindrops... or, more accurately, they were just passing through him, like he wasn't even there. Was this kid a ghost? Or some kind of ghost? Or maybe his Stand was... what was a Stand? Didn't he mean Quirk? Hachi's mind was addled by the pain of losing a mandible, and having his body frozen in place. The rain had cut right through him in its frozen state. This... this was a killer's Quirk! This kid was going to kill them if they moved!

"What the fuck kind of hero are you anyway?" Hachi asked, turning his many eyes to the boy and speaking in a low rasp.

The boy sighed, shaking his head. Behind the mask, he was frowning.

"I am not a hero." Blackmore replied, before stepping up on the raindrops. "I am a butler. And you are ruffians, who will stay here restrained as you are until the authorities come to pick you up. Farewell."

He turned to his liquid form and flowed up and away, through the downpour zone, leaving Hachi and the other villains trapped in place by his Stand. They couldn't even watch him leave, unable to turn for fear of being pierced by the rain. So they stood in silent fear.

And in a nearby alleyway, under the shelter of a torn-off dumpster-lid but still surrounded by the deadly frozen rain, Katsuki Bakugo watched him go with a snarl of rage.

**The Courtyard**

A hammer blow to the side knocked Shouta off his feet, sending him skidding across the concrete of the central platform. He narrowly avoided plunging off the edge by throwing his capture weapon around a nearby villain, using the man's weight to stop himself from falling before twisting around and reversing his own momentum, firing the man off the edge as he himself skidded to a halt and brought his capture weapon back around.

He dropped to one knee, coughing, and a coppery taste in his mouth sent a shot of panic straight through his heart. He was coughing blood, always an ill omen. Furthermore, his vision was blurring, his dry-eye growing worse and worse with every passing moment. He longed to close his eyes and rest, his every muscle burning with stress and fatigue, but he ignored those demands and forced himself to his feet, the splitting pain in his side a mere footnote in his mind. He had bigger problems to deal with than a few fractured ribs; the remaining villains, for one, and that monstrous black creature for another.

He dropped his stance again, capture weapon at the ready. His eyes narrowed behind his goggles, and he let his Quirk activate with a flash of red from his irises. Instantly his eyes flared with pain, but he bit back a cry and grunted instead, pushing forward and then lunging to close the gap. One villain came to him, hands raised high, the electricity crackling around them disappearing as Shouta turned his nullifying gaze to him. The man was given a split second to realize his attack was now much less powerful, before Shouta slammed a foot into his gut and he was sent sprawling.

Shouta twisted and threw his capture weapon again, wrapping it around one man's arm and turning the other way, swinging him back around. The man staggered in an effort to keep up, before Shouta nimbly back-stepped another man's high kick before yanking his capture weapon back toward himself, pulling the man wrapped up in it along for the ride. The two connected with a dull crack of skull-on-skull, before Shouta pushed them both away with one foot, pulling his capture weapon free as he did so.

The other villains were much more hesitant now; they had seen him demolish over two dozen of their own, their numbers insufficient in the face of his skill and experience. He had spent years mastering his fighting style; the idea that merely being outnumbered would somehow keep him from success was as ludicrous as it was insulting. Shouta quickly counted out five remaining villains, not counting the black creature or the man covered in hands. He grasped his capture scarf in both hands and squinted at the latter two; the pitch black creature was gone. Where had it-

His train of thought was derailed by the impact of a fist the colour of a midnight sky, and his mind was consumed by a single overwhelming message; PAIN. Every nerve was firing it full blast, especially those in his eyes and the ones along the right side of his body. He lost all sensation in his right arm; he supposed it had been demolished, the bone likely obliterated by the impact. That thing was strong!

But that was not what Shouta was afraid of. It was not the reason that when he hit the ground he had to swallow back his terror. It was something far worse; he knew his body was being ruined. He could accept that; it was part of the job. No, his fear was for his students. If they died... he had failed. Failed to protect them. Failed to nurture them. Failed to guide them. Failed to be their teacher, their Sensei. And that was unacceptable.

Shouta Aizawa forced himself to roll over, fending off the agonized wails of his right side. He watched the pitch black monster approach, saw it descending upon him like a mountain lion would approach crippled prey. Slow, careful, bulging eyes staying locked on him. Shouta let his own eyes glow again, trying to shut down his opponent's Quirk.

A monstrous hand grasped his face, the palm alone blotting out all vision, before the creature lifted him up. He could feel his feet dangling, his head throbbing and most of all his arm flopping limply to the side. His capture weapon hung loosely in his left hand, the one he could still move, but when he threw it around the creature's tree-trunk ankle and wrenched on it, the beast didn't even shift.

Then he went higher, as the creature raised him up, before hurtling down. He hit the concrete, and in an explosion of shards and dust was crushed into it. His mind blanked for a moment, a split second of pure darkness before everything rebooted. The creature kept pressing down, trying to pulp his skull against the concrete. He couldn't do anything, his vision darkening and his body going numb; Shouta Aizawa realized in that moment that he was going to die.

Then something shifted the creature's arm, a powerful impact that managed to move it's grip. The beast released Shouta's head, twisting to face this new threat, and through his blackening vision Shouta saw two bright colours moving; green, he noted, a dark pine green. And a deep, rich purple, regal and kingly. Then his eyes closed, and he lost his battle against unconscious.

Izuku Midoriya saw his Sensei pass out and sighed with relief as the black monster turned to face him, bulging eyes refocusing on his form. Izuku's left arm was broken from his last punch, but fortunately he had a plan. It was probably a bad plan, one that would never actually work, but it was at the very least worth a try. He dropped down low and lunges at the monster, right fist crackling with the power of One For All, before he twisted in a dodge away from a wicked fast punch and let himself fall to the ground.

He pulled his coat around, using the way it was loosely draped on his shoulders and held in place by a single button, and sank into the ground using Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Funny had told him of this tactic, one he had frequently used to prolong his battles. It was a way Izuku could use to go all out, to fight to the point of death, and keep on fighting afterwards. Izuku sank into the ground and rose back up from under a person, he noticed, a collapsed form.

Denki Kaminari was absolutely exhausted from a long day of rescue exercises, and in his exhaustion it took him a moment to realize there was somebody under him, inside the concrete and emerging slowly, until a hand grabbed his forearm and pushed, rolling him into his side long enough for the figure to scramble free. The rest of Class 1-A stared at Izuku Midoriya, including Izuku Midoriya, who looked far less surprised than the rest of them.

"Is it... is it time?" an Izuku Midoriya without a purple coat asked, the tips of his fingers pressing together.

The Izuku Midoriya who had come from beneath Kaminari nodded once, pulling his coat off and tossing it to the second Izuku. The one the class knew caught it and pulled it on, and suddenly the change of costume to a simple spandex top and black pants made much more sense. The floor-Izuku dropped to one knee, cradling a busted arm, and this world's original Izuku smiled at him.

"These guys c-can take care of that." he said, before nodding at the new Izuku. "I'll handle it, don't worry. You're safe here."

The floor-Izuku just nodded back, before the Izuku now wearing the coat pulled it around himself and materialized again. He came up from the ground, right behind the black monster where a large chunk of concrete had left a space between itself and the floor for him to exploit. He materialized, and then cocked his arm back and delivered a one-hundred percent punch with his left arm and fist, shattering the creature's left shoulder blade. It whirled around, but Izuku had already dodged the opposite way and so brought his foot around in a wicked roundhouse to the creature's face, knocking a small chunk off of its beak.

He saw the beak growing back almost instantly, and swallowed before shrouding himself in the coat again and disappearing. He landed on the ground with a groan, before a hand grabbed his coat and pulled. He rolled over, eyes blurring for a moment, and saw a third Izuku pulling on the coat, glancing down and giving him a nod.

"It can regenerate..." the Izuku on the floor warned, and the new, silent Izuku nodded again before disappearing.

He reappeared and immediately chose a crippling blow, driving a boot into the back of the monster's knee with One For All, snapping the more fragile bone. He used the kickback from the attack to push off the creature, turning and raising a fist to deliver a one-hundred percent punch into the ground beneath him. This sling-shotted him sky high, and he turned to adjust his angle one more time and bring a One For All charged leg crashing down on the monster's exposed brain.

He missed, his foot smashing into its already damaged shoulder and breaking it with all the combined momentum and the power of One For All, before he used his remaining arm to shroud himself in his coat and disappear again.

The next Izuku had a different gambit in mind; he directed his first punch at the floor, smashing his fist into the ground and raising a massive cloud of dust to hide the field, before making a break for it. Hopefully his idea would work, though he wasn't wholly certain...

Shigaraki Tomura watched with wide-eyed shock as the boy disappeared and reappeared, over and over again, always showing up just to deliver a couple of powerful, ultimately distracting blows to his Noumu before disappearing. He looked around to find himself alone, the five remaining trash-mob villains all having run off. Useless sacks of meat and hit-points... he would settle this himself. Years of battling bosses and plotting raids had prepared him for this sort of fight.

He already knew the boy had a weakness; his warping seemed to rely on his coat. Shigaraki wasn't sure how he healed during his disappearances, but he didn't really care either. All he wanted was to cripple the little bastard and move on with his plan. Eraserhead was down, the students were still mostly scattered and communications were still jammed. He still had a chance; he just needed to bait All Might somehow. Killing these kids would probably do that easily enough.

Shigaraki snarled and got moving, hands curled into claw-like shapes at his sides. One grab would be enough, one good firm grip to turn this agitating glass-cannon into dust. He just had to stay low and let Noumu draw his attention, then strike when the kid wasn't able to predict it. The coat, the coat was crucial, he reminded himself. He skulked around the edge of the fight, watching the boy use his weird-ass Quirk to appear and disappear, before he saw an opportunity. The kid disappeared, and materialized mere feet from Shigaraki, hands still clutching his jacket.

Shigaraki lunged forward, and grabbed a fistful of the kid's shoulder. He tightened his grip to a bone-crushing white-knuckle hold, and then blinked in confusion when nothing happened. The kid turned, and Shigaraki released and took a step back, before spotting a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. Impossible. IMPOSSIBLE. Eraserhead was supposed to be dead! Eraserhead had been beaten, bludgeoned and crushed into the goddamn floor!

But here he was, standing upright, body fully intact and free of any battle damage. Shigaraki felt that stupid scarf-weapon wrap around his body, his Quirk failing to activate when he took another long stare from those glowing red eyes. He noted a second too late that Eraserhead *did* have a tell; his hair lifted up when he used his Quirk. Dammit! He should have seen it sooner. He bucked and writhed in the clutches of the weapon, screaming for his Noumu.

"No such luck." Eraserhead spoke, and Shigaraki blinked when the voice was that of a woman. "Midoriya's been keeping that thing pressured. He's popped both eardrums and gouged out an eye. Your backup isn't going to-"

A hole of black shadow appeared in reality itself, a flat plan in a three-dimensional space, and then closed, severing the capture weapon part way through its own length. Both Shigaraki and the weird female-Eraserhead fell backwards, stumbling as their mutual struggle was suddenly brought to an end. Shigaraki fell down and into the floor, through a portal opened behind his back, and found himself standing next to Kurogiri on the far end of the concrete platform.

"This is a disaster!" Shigaraki declared, disintegrating the loosened capture weapon with his restored Quirk and freeing himself. "That kid is hacking, he has to be! Nobody is that powerful besides Sensei!"

"It would appear his Quirk is quite impressive, Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri agreed, nodding his gaseous head. "However, take note. He has not defeated Noumu in the slightest; he has only succeeded in slowing it down. When All Might comes, Noumu will still be able to kill him."

Shigaraki scowled and kept watching. The kid was still disappearing and reappearing, usually looking a little different with each appearance. Sometimes he seemed a little taller or a little shorter, at one point he had incredibly short hair and at another his hair was long, tied back in a pony-tail. It was a strange thing to watch; maybe the kid could clone himself, or something? That didn't make much sense, but Shigaraki couldn't decipher any other reason for teleportation-healing.

Then there was a thunderous booming sound from the front doors, and Shigaraki's eyes went wide as he saw the target of all this just walk into the room like he owned the place. Noumu turned to, ignoring a kick to the head from the green-haired kid as it focused it's one intact and one regenerating eye on All Might, who was pulling off his tie and shouting, his every word a booming declaration.

"Kurogiri..." Shigaraki muttered. "Get ready."

All Might lunged, and smashed a fist into the Noumu's gut. And Shigaraki screamed as the monster was thrown backwards.

Noumu wasn't ready. Every attack from the annoying green kid had been focused on crippling and hampering the creature, breaking important bones or damaging tendons and muscle fibres crucial to the running of it's enormous form. It's eyes had each been destroyed at least twice, and it had gone through more eardrums than one could shake a multitude of sticks at. And now, a fully intact (and female, what the hell?) Eraserhead was focusing her(?) nullifying gaze on it.

Noumu had multiple Quirks. Shigaraki had known that with its strength being mutation-based, that meant it was unable to lose its most important weapon. Eraserhead would either remove the regeneration, which was fine since it was already monstrously resilient and All-Might wasn't given to pulling his enemies apart, or its shock absorption, which would be much worse but still recoverable.

But regeneration had its limits, and constantly growing back complicated things like eyeballs and eardrums has taxed it to something approaching a natural limit. Meanwhile, with it's shock absorption gone, that meant All Might has just pulped most of its innards with a single strike. Shigaraki watched in horror as his vaunted 'All Might Killer', the most important aspect of this plan, was hammered across the concrete square and into the ground.

All Might didn't just stop with one attack either; he gave chase, delivering a powerful two-fisted smash attack that slammed the creature into the floor. Then he started digging, punching a veritable trench in the ground using his two fists and Noumu's body. Noumu had been pushed to the limit, and tragically without orders from its master or any real strategic thinking of its own, it was brought to the end of its unnatural, monstrous life by one final crushing strike from All Might.

Shigaraki snarled, but before he could do much of anything besides be angry the boy in the purple coat came running toward them, his fist crackling with that green energy. He looked more or less the same as the original now, with slightly longer hair and a little taller. Shigaraki snarled before lunging as well, reaching out with his hand, before a wall of darkness rose in front of him and he found himself falling to the floor inside Kurogiri's bar, Kurogiri stepping through the same portal with him.

The message was clear as daylight, even without words. Kurogiri stepped behind the bar and leaned on its surface, his gaseous head falling, and Shigaraki raged on the floor, screaming his anger.

They had lost.

**Author's Note: **

**Noumu weird. I figure Eraserhead can erase at least one Quirk, except the one that makes him rubbery and like nine feet tall, so I just assumed when he uses his Erasure it's like a fifty-fifty on regeneration or shock absorption. Which also is weird, because those two might be mutation Quirks, but does that mean All For One can steal mutation Quirks and they just don't affect him, or does he have the ability to turn them off and on at will? Doesn't that literally ignore a major law of Mutation Quirks, in that they're always active? If you steal a Mutation Quirk, does that kill the former bearer since you just stole a massive chunk of their genes?**

**This is all stuff that's utterly beyond me, so I won't go into it because this a story about Izuku getting a superpower from the former President of the United States of America and using it to become the number one hero in the world. And I'm not falling into the trap of trying to make sense of a Manga power system, since the rules can change pretty much whenever. **

**Speaking of change, yes, Eraserhead is a woman now. Izuku can travel to alternate dimensions, and I'm not giving up the perfect excuse to do funky shit with characters that's also one-hundred percent explicable in the story. I can change things at will, and I don't even need to retcon everything over and over and over again!**

**Wait, my doorbell just rang. Gimme a sec.**

**Hey, I know that face... aren't you Araki? Wait, w-what're you doing with that axe?**

**Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you with next one!**


	7. After the Storm

In the wake of a villain attack, certain things were inevitable as the rising sun. The first and foremost of these things was the arrival of the police, usually shortly after the heroes had finished handling the situation. In the case of UA's property being invaded by a small army of villains, the police presence far exceeded the normal response numbers, over two-dozen officers and a squad of anti-Quirk personnel all swarming the USJ facility, cuffing and carting off no less than seventy-one villains who had been brought down by the hero students. Several who had faced the wrath of a particular student, a thin boy clad in a white mask marked with a rainbow, effectively begged to be taken away.

The boy had said nothing of what had occurred, only that he had restrained the villains and moved on. None of the police had asked for any information beyond that, and so the boy was satisfied. They didn't even request the name of his 'Quirk', something that made him particularly happy.

Yes, Blackmore was satisfied, sitting on the curb outside the USJ some distance from the rest of the students, his mask at his hip as he drank long, deep gulps from a water bottle given to him by one of the EMTs. Apparently Catch the Rainbow now came with the cost of steadily draining his fluids, leaving him dehydrated after using it for too long. He had, however, learned that this only applied when he was in his liquid form, and even then only if he used it outside of natural rainfall. It was a good thing to know, and so after he had confirmed that his master was well he had retreated from the crowd of police, hero students and EMTs to take a break.

He heard footsteps approach from behind him, however, loud ones, the walk of someone upset by something. They came to a halt directly behind him, casting a shadow over him in the light of the mid-day sun. Heavy breathing, and then a low growl.

"I saw that shit." the voice of Katsuki Bakugo declared, a snarl in his tone displaying his anger. "In the downpour zone. I saw you with those fuckers. I saw that power of yours. You were gonna kill them."

Blackmore said nothing, taking another sip of water.

"That's not what heroes do, Blackmore." Katsuki continued, evidently having bent down to growl directly into Blackmore's ear. "That kind of thing could probably get you in a lot of trouble with the school, you know?"

Blackmore continued to ignore Katsuki, bringing his water bottle up to his lips again. A hand came down and wrenched the bottle from his hand, a series of gulps from behind him telling him where all the water was disappearing to. There was the crackle of the plastic bottle being crushed, and then it bounced off his head and landed at his feet. Blackmore sighed.

"What is that you want from me, Mr. Bakugo?" Blackmore asked, speaking aloud. "Or are you simply looking to antagonize me? In that case, why?"

Katsuki said nothing at first, before his voice started up right next to Blackmore's ear, a dreadful whisper full of malice.

"I don't know who the fuck you are or where the fuck you came from, but don't think that just because you can spook some pathetic extras you're somehow hot shit." Katsuki said. "You're just another stepping stone for me, and I will not hesitate to crush you like the rest of these-"

Blackmore snapped his fingers, and Katsuki choked as one of the water droplets still in his throat froze in place. Blackmore's hand came up and grabbed Katsuki by the collar, holding him in place.

"I apologize for this, but should you move, the water in your throat will not move with you, and will instead punch a hole in your throat." Blackmore warned, his own voice having dropped to a mutter. "So I recommend you sit still and listen to me for a moment."

Katsuki swallowed, and seemed to regret it when the water droplet in his throat collided with the contracting flesh, punching a tiny hole inside his throat.

"I DO know who you are, and where you come from." Blackmore declared. "I know your home address and I know your bedroom, I know which window is yours and I know everything you have ever done to Master Midoriya. And I wish to now warn you that if you so much as lay a finger on him outside of training courses I will not hesitate to immobilize every drop of water in your body so you tear yourself to pieces trying to flee my wrath."

Blackmore's voice was cold, calm, the opposite of Bakugo's fiery growl. He pressed a single finger into the blonde's throat and stroked back and forth, right around where the water droplet was frozen. He looked up and saw an expression of murder on the boy's face.

Blackmore smiled.

"So do be careful in the rain." he said, voice back to its normal tone and volume. "I wouldn't want to see you get wet."

Blackmore rose, turned and walked away, snapping his fingers again to release Katsuki from his hold. The water slid down his throat so suddenly it made Katsuki wretch, and Blackmore ignored his undignified sputtering, walking away with his hands folded behind his back and his mask on his hip. His umbrella was still with Izuku, who was using it to shield himself and his pounding headache from the brightness and heat of the sun.

Izuku was having a hard time ignoring the fact that the woman sitting beside him was actually his home room teacher, Shota Aizawa. The fact that her name was Shotaka did not make this any easier for him to deal with. She herself seemed all too aware that her appearance, arrival and demeanour were all strange, having been given an explanation by Izuku himself, who was not looking forward to giving the same explanation to UA's Headmaster and the rest of his teachers.

"So... y-you aren't mad?" Izuku asked, voice quiet.

"No, not really." Shotaka replied, shaking her head and shrugging. "The me from this world looked pretty messed up, so I figured the situations was bad. Turned out it was. I'm more worried about the rest of your class. I am... different from your last teacher."

She gestured to herself, the more feminine form hard to discern under the baggy black clothes but still obvious, as was the way her hair was kept back in a long black braid. She was just as sickly pale and tired looking as the other Aizawa, just with breasts and no stubble. At least, probably not on her face...

Izuku slapped himself. Damn Funny and his mature, adult mind for being partially fused with his own hormone-addled teen brain! He already had enough to deal with without his mind suddenly remembering that girls were a thing alongside all the inter-dimensional hijinks and villainous invasions interrupting his school field trips. Now was not the time for girls!

"So, how do we explain this?" Shotaka asked, before breaking up her next sentence with a yawn. "I mean, I'm a woman... and your class is used to me being a man. That's going to cause some problems."

"I might have to come out and admit what Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap does after all." Izuku sighed. "I mean... I think everybody just assumed it was some sort of warp Quirk. But now... most warp Quirks can't do stuff like this, pulling people from other dimensions into this one."

"That is true." Shotaka agreed, before looking over at the approaching Blackmore. "Here comes Blackmore. Wait... how do I know that name?"

Shotaka blinked, pressing a hand to her head and shaking her head as if trying to jar something loose. Izuku didn't mind her, waving to Blackmore, who came and dropped down in front of Izuku, sitting across from him. The boy spared exactly one glance at the now female Aizawa, cocking his head to one side and raising an eyebrow before shrugging and looking back to Izuku, who groaned.

"I... had to help Aizawa-Sensei." he explained. "He was hurt really bad, so I pulled him to another dimension with me and swapped with the Aizawa already there. This is Shotaka, the other Aizawa, by the way."

"Greetings, Miss Aizawa." Blackmore bowed his head, and Shotaka ignored him in favour of rubbing her forehead. "It is good to see you made your transition without losing anything important."

Izuku blinked.

"Blackmore... what does that mean?" he asked, looking at Blackmore, who smiled innocently. "Blackmore, are you saying I could accidentally... damage people, by moving them?"

"No." Blackmore shook his head. "That would be silly. I was attempting to make a joke, sir, to lighten the mood. Sorry if it failed to be funny, sir, I will endeavour to be more humorous in the future."

Izuku groaned again, pressing two fingers to each temple and gently massaging them in circular motions with a bit of pressure. His head hurt, probably a result of warping so much today. He had never actually had to blink so many times before. Blackmore took a long look at Izuku and realized it was surely an Izuku of another dimension; this one had a pattern of five freckles in a pentagon shape under each eye, rather than the original Izuku's four-freckle-diamond pattern. He also had much longer hair, tied back into an ad-hoc pony-tail.

"Yeah, I'm Izuku... I'm not sure, we didn't really bother counting." Izuku said, nodding as he confirmed Blackmore's suspicions. "Probably fourteen or so. The others blasted away with full power on our Quirk, and then we swapped out when we blew through too many limbs. I got swapped in at the end, after All Might showed up. It'd be a pain to find the original Izuku, and unnecessary, since we're all basically the exact same guy past some surface level stuff. So I'm gonna stay until I need to swap out."

Blackmore nodded again, before glancing over Izuku's shoulder.

"In warning, sir, it would appear Miss Tsuyu is approaching." he said, voice low. "She looks... well, as blank as ever, sir."

Asui Tsuyu was approaching from behind Izuku, her face just as calm and expression was as ever. Behind her followed several other students; Kyoka Jiro, Momo Yaoyorozu and Hanta Sero, all of whom had managed to avoid any real injury or strain during the USJ battle besides a few minor cuts and bruises on Sero and a small amount of Quirk over-usage for Momo.

Izuku knew that, because he had checked with the EMTs first thing after being checked up himself. The EMTs had been shocked at his 'lack of injury' and allowed him to go, after informing him of all his classmates conditions. Hagakure Tooru had been found unconscious in the downpour zone, badly hurt by some sort of electricity Quirk, but she was the only one who had suffered severe injury. The EMTs had been the first to learn of Shotaka Aizawa, however, and that had kept them quite busy for a while as they tried to figure out how a biological male had become a biological female without any signs of Quirk interference.

D4C, as it turned out, didn't really show up on Quirk tests. The same went for Catch the Rainbow; both were detectable, but Funny had theorized in Izuku's head that since Stands were of the soul, they were still linked to the metaphysical moreso than the physical. This meant that while they had a clear effect on physiology (Blackmore's ability to turn into liquid and the resultant nonsensical mess that was his genetic structure, or Izuku's utterly incomprehensible cell structure that could shift between realities) their greater powers were nearly impossible to explain or detect.

There was no scientific explanation for Blackmore's ability to freeze water in mid air, nor was there a reason for Izuku's ability to appear in other realities by moving between objects. One scientist would later write in his journal: 'Though there is surely much to be discovered in the field of Quirk science, it remains a fact that some Quirks can only really be explained with a single phrase; it just works.'

Izuku turned to face his approaching classmates, bowing his head in greeting before rising to his feet. He realized too late that he was also approximately two inches taller than the Izuku who had originated in this reality, and therefore stood taller than he ever had before. The three froze for a moment, blinking.

"Hey guys." Izuku said, smiling. "Everything okay?"

Sero looked at the two girls, who each shrugged at one another before Momo sighed, stepping forward. Izuku forced his eyes to stay on her face, resisting the inexorable gravitational pull downwards towards that enormous window in her costume. He was far more successful than he had dared hope, able to not only keep his eyes off her cleavage but also fight back his urge to blush in any way.

"Midoriya... we heard from the doctors that something had happened to Aizawa-Sensei." Momo said. "Is... is he okay?"

"Fine." Shotaka said, startling all three students as she stood up, turning and revealing that she was definitely a woman as far as facial features and build went, not to mention voice. "Shotaka Aizawa. Oh... Sero. You're a boy in this dimension, I see."

Sero blinked twice, before turning around and walking away, muttering something Izuku made out to be 'maybe later'. Momo and Kyoka just stared, and Izuku rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly grinning.

"Yeah... about that..." he said. "I... should probably explain."

Kyoka looked back at him, smirking.

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this." she said. "Alright, green-bean. Spill. What did you do to turn Aizawa-Sensei into a girl?"

"Actually, I was always a girl." Shotaka interjected. "At least, in my dimension."

"D-dimensions?" Momo asked, her head swivelling between Shotaka and Izuku at a frankly unhealthy speed. "W-what is the t-talking about, Izuku?"

Izuku willed D4C to appear around him, the ghostly afterimage of the Stand it had once been materializing over his body. Momo nodded once, before shaking her head and looking twice.

"This is D4C, another aspect of my Quirk." Izuku lied. "It gives me the ability to warp, not just between points in space, but also between alternate worlds."

Momo dropped into her ass, while Kyoka just stared, mouth agape. Blackmore poked his head around Izuku's leg and waved, before adding something very unhelpful.

"I was originally from the eighteen-nineties." he said. "Unfortunately, I perished, and D4C brought me here from the afterlife."

Momo emitted a small squeaking sound, and Kyoka fell over too. Izuku swallowed, rubbing one forearm with his hand and sighing.

"This is... gonna be a long story." he said, before dropping on his butt as well.

If you can't beat 'em, he reasoned, join 'em.

Funny disagreed with that sentiment.

**Author's Note:**

**Alternate universe nonsense is going to be fun in this story, I promise.**

**Not much to say this chapter, except to thank you guys for all the support. I was not expecting this story to get as popular as it has; we're almost at a hundred favourites, for crying out loud! This is awesome! You guys are awesome!**

**Reviews are always welcome, especially if you're signed in. I do enjoy replying to you guys, answering questions and addressing concerns or just joking around. Conversation is always fun.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this helping of nonsense, and I'll see you next time when my second-favourite Jojo's character makes an appearance! Hint; X marks the spot.**


	8. Answers and Accidents

Izuku Midoriya was in dire need of a nap. Or at least, an opportunity to lay down and do nothing for a period of at least sixty uninterrupted minutes. However, this was a leisure he was not to be afforded, considering he was walking in full hero regalia to the headmaster's office, flanked by Blackmore on one side and Shotaka Aizawa on the other. His hands were folded behind his back, his coat flapping dramatically behind him as he marched forward into what could very well be yet another battle.

He hoped it would not turn into something so dire. He hoped the headmaster simply wished to discuss something cordial, like the state of his class. Izuku paused for a moment internally, wondering when he had begun to consider his class his responsibility, rather than just his friends and peers.

"_Most likely when you broke some nineteen limbs in their defense." _Funny noted, voice alive with quiet mirth. "_I believe a sacrifice like that earns you the right to be at least a touch possessive."_

Izuku said nothing in reply, not wanting to look like a madman in front of his homeroom teacher and his… butler. Yes, they had agreed upon butler, given that 'manservant' was a little too slavish for Izuku's tastes and 'aide' didn't really explain their relationship and also translated very poorly when spoken aloud. As such, Blackmore became his butler, and life became just a little easier.

Speaking not of easiness but rather a lack of it, Izuku sighed when he saw the headmaster's office doors. He had hoped to delay this for as long as possible; Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was immensely powerful, and it was possible that the headmaster would want Izuku tested to discover its upper limits. A Quirk of this power would have him watched like for the rest of his days, and even All Might's mentor status probably couldn't save him from curious government scientists wanting to dissect him to discern how he did what he did.

Blackmore drew up straight when they paused in front of the doors, Shotaka giving him a sideways glance before turning back to the door. Izuku swallowed, before raising a hand to knock. Right before his gloved knuckles could make contact with the dual wooden doors, however, they swung open with a quiet whirring of machinery. Cameras, then. Wonderful. He was likely being recorded.

He stepped inside, Blackmore and Shotaka following. The office was an impressive space, the far wall dominated by a vast series of glass panels forming a single gargantuan window. The two walls to their left and right were lined with a series of life-size statues, depicting various famous heroes. Endeavour was represented, and of course All Might stood tall and proud in the far corner by the window. The centre of the room was taken up by a great wooden desk, easily larger than Izuku's bed, occupied by a single individual.

An individual who appeared to be some sort of strange, white-furred fusion of mouse, bear and… perhaps a dog? Izuku wasn't sure he'd ever seen an animal quite like it before. He realized a moment later it was wearing a finely tailored black and white suit, with a pocket watch in its right breast pocket.

"Ah, Mr. Midoriya!" the creature squeaked, in what was definitely a human voice. "So good to see you. And young Mr. Blackmore at your side, of course… and of course, the woman of the hour, Miss Aizawa! You of course know me as Nezu, the adorable headmaster of UA!"

Izuku looked at Blackmore, who himself seemed contrite. Ah, he knew then. And was likely told to say nothing. Understandable, at least; he had wanted to join the class with Izuku. That had likely been a condition of his sudden entry into 1-A. Confidentiality. Funny certainly appreciated it, though he was also a little set aback by the appearance of the headmaster. Izuku, for once, adapted faster; he had seen mutant-Quirks before. He was in class with Shoji, for goodness' sake; the boy had six arms! That could turn into eye-stalks or long ears or mouths!

Nezu, as his name apparently was, gestured to a set of chairs in front of his desk. Three in total, likely set up in anticipation of their arrival. Izuku took the middle seat, Blackmore remaining at his left and Shotaka slipping into the chair at his right. The three sat silently for a moment as Nezu slid back into his own (likely very well-padded) chair, and the four sat in the quiet for a short while.

"I trust you are well, Mr. Midoriya?" Nezu asked, sounding genuinely concerned and therefore surprising Izuku a little. "I heard the battle in the USJ was quite trying for all involved, yourself most certainly included."

"I'm fine, actually." Izuku replied, fighting off his nerves and nodding. "I… this is why you brought us here, isn't it?"

"Among other things, of course." Nezu smiled. "First young Blackmore arrives, informing me that he is in fact from another timeline and dimension entirely, brought across by a power called, and I quote, 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'. This happening the morning after you displayed a previously unknown warp Quirk of questionable origins, using it to succeed in a training exercise despite having a broken arm."

Nezu glanced at Shotaka before continuing.

"And now I am informed that not only is one of our homeroom teachers, not to mention a former student, suddenly the opposite sex they were that morning, I am also told that Izuku Midoriya managed to battle a monstrous multi-Quirked creature to stand still, breaking his own limbs many times in the process and somehow always standing back up fully intact." Nezu said, a single sentence that didn't seem to strain him at all. "It is curious then that all these things happened in a single week, all of them involving you, Izuku Midoriya, either directly or indirectly. So I want to ask you…"

Nezu leaned in, and despite being the size of a stuffed toy a child would snuggle with, he seemed to loom over them all. Izuku swallowed.

"What is Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap?" Nezu asked. "How did you acquire it? And most importantly; what can it do?"

Izuku looked at Blackmore, who simply nodded. He glanced at Shotaka, who was sitting and watching the proceedings with narrowed eyes and an overall watchful gaze. Izuku took a deep breath, before nodding.

And then, he began to explain.

He started with Funny's sudden arrival and abduction (rescue, Funny corrected internally) before his gaining the power, being given it by Funny. He explained his defeat of Bakugo and Iida, his victory in the training battle. He told him about Blackmore laying on raindrops, and of their first conversation. He told Nezu about the dreams of infinite worlds, about the fact that he could, in a way, feel the infinite light of his soul across infinite universes, all of them accessible using his D4C. He told Nezu about the mechanics of his power, the need for two objects or one object folded, about how he had bent the rules using the loose and flowing coat.

He told Nezu about the rigours of the USJ battle. About his ability to pass on D4C to other versions of himself, and about how he had continuously sacrificed his own body to keep the monster from hurting anybody else. How he had swapped Shota Aizawa for Shotaka, in a desperate bid to save the man's life. How he had held the line until All Might's arrival, how he had switched one last time to ensure he could back the man up if need be.

And he finished by admitting the Valentine was still in his head, still watching and listening and speaking, now a part of D4C the same way it was a part of Izuku.

And through it all Nezu was listening, nodding his head and occasionally requesting clarification on a certain topic or question. He asked little, however, and spent most of his time listening and nodding. Blackmore interjected at one point, noting that he had been following Izuku for some time, unsure if the other boy was aware of his coming due to D4C or not. Shotaka also added that she had agreed to replace her other self when she heard Class 1-A was in danger in this universe.

"As far as I can tell, this was the only universe where the League of Villains attacked the USJ on this day." Izuku declared. "In my original universe, we simply went through the different zones and performed rescue training. The worst that happened was Snipe-Sensei accidentally hitting one of the faux-villains with a bullet through the arm."

"Snipe was involved with the USJ trip in your dimension?" Nezu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, in my original universe Snipe-Sensei is our homeroom teacher." Izuku replied, nodding. "I seem to be an outlier in that regard; most other universes still have Aizawa-Sensei as their homeroom teacher, although sex obviously switches sometimes."

"Intriguing…" Nezu rubbed his chin, before looking at Shotaka. "I suppose the evidence before speaks for itself. I may not have a Quirk that informs me of falsehoods, but I like to think I can tell when people are being honest with me. You are telling the truth… and that means I'm going to have to make a few changes around the school."

He looked at Blackmore and Izuku, nodding.

"The two of you are dismissed." he declared. "Young Midoriya, I am most impressed with your conduct during this meeting, and do not think you won't be commended for your valiant actions today. And Miss Aizawa, would you remain here for a while? We'll need to go through some paperwork and of course inform your coworkers of the shift. I trust our staff roster hasn't changed in your original dimension?"

Shotaka groaned, rubbing her temples with her hands while Izuku smiled apologetically and stood up. Blackmore stood as well, but Izuku hesitates before walking away. He turned and placed a hand on Shotaka's shoulder, smiling at Nezu.

"Actually, sir, maybe I should stay here?" he asked politely. "It is my fault that Aizawa-Sensei has to go through all this. I should probably stay and help with any trouble it brings. Responsibility for your actions and all that."

"_Humility is crucial to earning this one's respect." _Funny advised, referencing Nezu. "_He is a modern Chiron, a trainer of heroes. It makes since that he would respect those who respect others."_

"Shall I remain too, sir?" Blackmore asked, and Izuku shook his head.

"No, Blackmore, head home and tell my mom I'll be a little late today." he replied. "Don't let her panic about the USJ battle please. You know how she can get when she's worried about me. Help her with dinner, she'd like that."

"Of course, sir." Blackmore bowed, before withdrawing.

Izuku took a seat next to Shotaka, who was giving him a look that contained the shadow of a grateful smile. Izuku said nothing, but he did smile back, before looking at Nezu and nodding.

"Alright…" he said softly. "Paperwork."

Shotaka groaned again.

Blackmore, meanwhile, made a quick trip to the bathroom. Not to use the toilet, heavens no; he wanted to wash up a touch. He had put himself through quite the ordeal today, fending off villains and being stuck inside the downpour zone because of its domed roof and his own inability to find a door… he shook his head, sticking his hands under the stream of water and scrubbing them clean, his black gloves in his jacket pocket and his mask at his hip once again.

He scrubbed them clean for a long minute, using a bountiful amount of soap, before shaking his hands clean and hearing a door open behind him. One of the stalls, he surmised. He had thought himself to be alone. He wiped his face, and then froze the water with Catch the Rainbow and took a step back, into the other person.

"Ah, many apologies!" he darted forward, letting the frozen water fall into the sink and thereby drying his face, before noting that there were two interesting bulges pressed against his back. His eyes went wide and he whirled around, seeing a young woman of average height standing behind him, with what seemed to be green vines growing from her scalp rather than hair.

Blackmore blinked, before looking around. He had never known gender-segregated restrooms before; he had never known public restrooms before. Most places of business were lucky to have a single toilet inside; the idea that he had accidentally entered the women's washroom rather than the men's was unfortunately unsurprising to him. He swallowed, bowing his head.

"I am so very, very sorry…" he began, backing toward the door as he spoke. "I have erred severely, the fault lay entirely with me. I will endeavour to extricate myself immediately…"

He did so, turning and streaming out of the room in liquid form, reforming into a solid outside the door and then turning to smack his forehead into the wall. Once, twice, three times, just as mother taught him. It was the only way to keep his fool brain straight, he reminded himself, blinking away the spots in his vision before repeating the action, driving his face into the wall three more times.

"Damn it all…" he groaned, rubbing his now bruised forehead. "Why can't I just be normal for a second of the day?"

His mother's question, not his. She had not been all too fond of her only son's more defective traits, such as his lack of social acumen or inability to discern right from wrong until after doing some deed that fell into one of the two categories. He squeezed his eyes shut, before moving to slam his head into the wall one more time. Seven was a good number, a lucky number. Ringo had sworn by the number seven, the cowboy's lucky seventh bullet.

Blackmore missed Ringo. He also missed Mike O, and of course he missed President Valentine. They had all been kind men, far kinder than a defective thing like Blackmore deserved. As was Master Midoriya, who had forgiven Izuku in spite of his stupidity and inability to escape a simple metal dome. He was an idiot, a worthless manservant who couldn't even stand by his master's side when he needed it most, in the face of great danger.

Before he could bring his head into contact with the wall, he felt something wrap around his forehead, pulling it back and away from the wall. Blackmore stumbled, turning to liquid and catching himself by reforming on his own two feet, before seeing the girl with the vine hair standing a few feet away, several strands of her vegetation-hair outstretched. Had she stopped him? What did she want?

"Please stop that," she said, her voice soft, serene to Blackmore's ears. "It would not be good for you to hurt yourself."

Blackmore swallowed. This girl… more specifically her voice, so calm and kind, filled with such gentleness and goodness, her posture so demure and yet so self-assured, her look of concern… it reminded him, and he begged forgiveness for this trespass… it reminded him of when he had attained a piece of the Holy Corpse, and had witnessed the face of Christ.

"I apologize again…" Blackmore said, rubbing his forehead with one hand as he bowed again. "I intruded upon you and violated the sanctity of your privacy. I understand that you are likely cross with me."

"Why were you in the bathroom?" the girl asked.

"I… I wasn't aware it was a women's washroom." he replied. "I simply wished to clean myself a little and take a moment to reflect. Today has been… strenuous."

"You're from Class 1-A, aren't you?" She took a step forward as she spoke, closing the distance between them and reaching up to touch a hand to his forehead. "I don't know your name, but I've seen you in the halls. I am Ibara Shiozaki. Are you hurt?"

"No more than I deserve." Blackmore replied, shaking his head and noting that her hands were soft, but firm in the way they explored his injury. "I… I apologize again."

"You just wanted to wash your hands." she replied, a smile gracing her features and shining upon Blackmore like a ray of the sun's light. "But… what do you mean, 'no more than you deserve'? Surely you don't think you somehow deserve pain?"

"I have erred twice today." Blackmore replied, shaking his head. "I failed to stand beside my master when he needed it most, and after that I threatened your dignity due to my inability to look where I am going. It is the place of a servant to-"

Ibara, this ever-so-strange girl, placed a hand over his mouth, silencing him. She shook her head, the expression on her face severe and serious as she stared him down. Blackmore did not try to argue, or pull away. He wasn't sure he could while she looked at him like that. Or, indeed, if she looked at him at all. She radiated a sense of calm, of peace, one Blackmore felt deep inside. It would have shook him to his core were it not also making him feel so utterly still and steady.

"No one deserves to suffer." she said, shaking her head slowly. "Not a failed servant, nor the greatest villain. Penance is not what you should seek; it's pain will do nothing for you. And there is no greater pain than that which a guilty heart feels. Do not seek punishment, seek forgiveness. And if this master of yours believes you somehow deserve to be in pain…"

Her eyes grew cold for a moment.

"Then he and I will share words." she concluded.

She withdrew her hand from Blackmore's mouth, and he blinked twice before bowing again, this time at the waist.

"My apologies, a hundred-fold." he said. "I…"

He fell silent when he felt himself being straightened up, before Ibara Shiozaki wrapped him in a tight hug. Blackmore had not been hugged in a long time. None of President Valentine's men, nor the President himself, were the hugging type. Izuku Midoriya and his mother were kind, but he avoided their physical affection. He was a servant, not a friend, even if Master Midoriya insisted he could somehow be both.

Blackmore felt warm inside, safer than he had ever felt before. He let his posture slump a little, leaning into her, and she only tightened her grip.

"Don't be sorry." she said, voice soft. "I have a feeling this was meant to be. You needed to hear what I had to say."

Blackmore just stood there, eyes closed and head bowed, all his concerns and guilt slipping away for a moment. He put his arms around the girl as well, and after a long moment they both pulled away. She smiled at him, and he felt a pang of something he didn't recognize in his heart.

"Go in peace, Raymond Blackmore." she said, bowing her head.

"And you as well, Ibara Shiozaki." Blackmore replied.

The two walked their separate ways, and Blackmore felt as though he were floating on a cloud. He was so out of it, in fact, he never even pondered how it was a girl he had never spoken to before or even seen knew his full name.

**Author's Note:**

**Ibara is second-best girl, and that's only because Kyoka has purple hair and purple is my favourite colour. Yes that's a silly reason and yes I'm biased in favour of tsunderes. Leave me alone.**

**Izuku needed to explain some things and Blackmore needed a hug. Those two were just involved in some crazy shit and everybody needs a break, right? Honestly, that entire second scene just sort of happened; I wrote it off the cuff, having not intended for it to go that way. But Blackmore is a good boy, and good boys deserve hugs and emotional support.**

**I lied in the last AN, I suppose; it's gonna be a little bit longer before we get my second favourite Jojo's character in here. Don't worry; they'll show up eventually. I might postpone their arrival until after the obligatory shounen tournament arc, but I'm still debating that. Maybe just a teaser before the big event, I'm not sure yet.**

**Once again, thanks for all your support, and I hope you enjoyed! **


	9. All the Time in the World

"This is the end, sir!" Blackmore declared, brandishing his umbrella in a menacing fashion before pointing it at Izuku, who was at the bottom of the small rock formation he had claimed as his own. "It is I who possesses the high ground now!"

"Tough talk, Blackmore…" Izuku retorted, before throwing a beach towel over himself and materializing behind Blackmore, rising up from a large fissure in the rock. "But it means nothing to me!"

He laughed as he ducked a swing of Blackmore's umbrella, lunging forward and driving his fist into the taller boy's stomach. Blackmore dodged by shifting to his liquid form, allowing Izuku to move through him before returning to his solid form and bringing his umbrella back around, cracking his master across the shoulder. Izuku winced, twisting to kick at Blackmore, who dodged away before jabbing at Izuku with his umbrella. Izuku smacked it aside, stepping back inside Blackmore's guard and punching the boy across the jaw with a wicked left hook, knocking him backwards.

Blackmore groaned, before turning to liquid again and streaming toward Izuku, who crossed his arms to block. This was Blackmore's new special move he had developed, something he called Chase the Rain. Blackmore reappeared in physical form, retaining all the momentum of his liquid form and bringing his reinforced umbrella down on Izuku's crossed arms. Izuku winced at the sheer force of the impact, and pushed back against the pressure before punching Blackmore in the chest, forcing the bigger boy back.

"You need to follow through!" Izuku reminded him. "Never settle for one strike; always have a second ready to follow up, even if the first hits! Especially if the first hits! Capitalize on advantage and be ready to recover from failure!"

Izuku displayed this tactic in action, following up his first punch with a jab at Blackmore's face, which the boy snapped his head back to avoid. Izuku then capitalized on the blind spot this forced gesture created, sweeping Blackmore's legs out from under him and following up with an attempted stomp at the chest. Blackmore shifted to his liquid form, flowing away to the attack before Izuku twisted and nailed his side with a roundhouse kick when he reformed.

"See?" he asked, giving Blackmore a moment to breathe and catch himself, backing off slightly. "Strike first, strike fast, strike hard, strike last."

"Is that… a quote… sir?" Blackmore asked, heaving back great lungfuls of air. "Who… is it from?"

"I dunno." Izuku shrugged. "Probably a hero. I can't remember. Do you need some water?"

Blackmore rubbed his dry lips with the back of his hand and nodded, too parched to speak. Izuku nodded and turned away, climbing back down the rock. The two were spending a Saturday morning training at Dagobah Beach, the same beach Izuku had cleaned during his original training with All Might. He and Blackmore had spent half an hour jogging up and down the beach, collecting any loose garbage and disposing of it as a warm-up before beginning their proper combat training. A nearby police officer on patrol had been informed of their intent, and they had been given the go ahead to teain so long as they stayed on the northern edge of the beach, which was less frequently visited. The fact that it was also covered in rock formations they could jump around on was only icing on the cake.

Blackmore seemed different, Izuku noted. He almost seemed distracted, at least a little, as if he was having trouble focusing on the present. Izuku wondered if it was maybe something to do with the USJ incident, but he didn't dare ask. Blackmore was loath to give up information about himself or his feelings, especially since he hated the idea of Izuku being worried about him. Which ironically made sure Izuku worried about him, but Blackmore was a bit odd in his way of thinking. Izuku couldn't blame him; he was born in the nineteenth century, after all. He was left utterly stunned and appalled by the sight of women in tight pants, and his first time seeing Momo's hero costume had left him borderline comatose for several long minutes.

Izuku was only glad he had never had a chance to meet Mineta. Blackmore would have beaten the boy to death in seconds, likely while ranting in that quiet death-whisper about respecting and cherishing women.

Izuku grabbed a water bottle from his backpack, throwing it up to Blackmore with a shouted warning. Blackmore snatched it from the air and drank half of it in just a few gulps, before capping it and throwing it back. Izuku downed the rest, and slid the bottle back into his backpack. He had spent ten months cleaning up this beach; he'd be damned if he was going to be caught littering on it.

"So, for our next exercise, I was thinking we could…" Izuku trailed off when Blackmore shook his head, before pointing to something behind him.

Izuku turned to see one of their classmates approaching; Mina Ashido, wearing a pair of hip-hugger denim cut-offs that had Blackmore looking at the ocean immediately. Izuku just blushed for a second, before waving in greeting. Mina did the same, and Izuku managed to smile at her before glancing back to see how Blackmore was coping. Ah, yes, ocean watching. A classic technique.

"Class Prez! Blackmore!" Ashido smiled at them both. "What are you guys doing around here?"

"I could ask you the same." Izuku replied, hoping it sounded as casual as it sounded in his head. "We're just getting some training in before the Sports Festival."

"Same!" Ashido laughed, before looking up at Blackmore. "Is… is he okay? He's not looking over here."

"Blackmore comes from an older time." Izuku replied, nodding at her attire of jean shorts and tank top. Ashido looked at herself for a second, before realizing what Izuku meant.

"Oh… so he's worried he's gonna spook little old me by looking?" she asked, a sly smile on her face. "In that case, he's gonna be screwed if he has to fight a cute girl villain. One second, I'm gonna go help him with that…"

She took off running toward Blackmore's rock clambering up the side. Blackmore saw her coming and took a step back, and then Izuku did the same when she pulled off her top to reveal what looked suspiciously like a leopard print bikini underneath. Izuku wasn't even facing her and his face went red; Blackmore literally liquefied and then streamed over to Izuku's side materializing and nearly falling over. Ashido just laughed, before pulling her tank top back on and moving toward the two again, sliding down the rock with her acid ability.

"Sorry about that, Blackmore." she said, giggling. "The look on your face was hilarious, though… wanna look again?"

Blackmore managed to maintain solid form this time, but he did not turn around, reaching down to his side and retrieving his mask, pressing it to his face. Ashido's expression switched from amused to curious, and she tapped him on the shoulder. Blackmore turned, swallowing hard and meeting her eyes. Izuku just watched, intrigued.

"What's with the mask?" Ashido asked. "You afraid I'll see you blushing or something?"

"I find your method of dress extremely disconcerting, and am concerned I am embarrassing you by looking." Blackmore replied, shaking his head. "Also my face is turning red and I don't like it very much."

Ashido started to giggle again, before reaching up and touching a single finger to the cheek of the mask. Blackmore's expression was inscrutable from the outside, but under the mask he was quite confused.

"I don't get why you hide your face so much." Ashido said. "You're actually pretty cute. You've got this boyish look about you, and your hair is super pretty."

Blackmore liquefied and retreated again, this time streaming further down the beach and materializing with a quiet gasp. Izuku sighed, putting a hand on Ashido's shoulder and turning her to face himself.

"Please stop sexually harassing my butler." he said, voice deadpan. "He's already had a rough week, so please don't add to it."

Ashido's smile failed to shrink, and she watched Blackmore flee with a quiet giggle before she turned to Izuku, still grinning.

"I was being serious about the girl-villain thing." she said. "If he can't hit a girl, or even focus if she's wearing sexy clothes, he's not going to be much good in a fight. Even if he has a super cool Quirk and can fight people with an umbrella."

"I just don't think this is the right way for him to get over the issue." Izuku replied. "Besides, he's got a lot of stuff on his plate right now, and the Sports Festival is coming up. There's a lot for us to do before then to make sure we're both up to snuff."

"Did you just say 'up to snuff'?" Ashido asked.

"Yes I did." Izuku replied, rubbing his forehead with a palm. "Now, is there anything you need help with, or were you just bored?"

"Got it in one." Ashido replied, before looking back at Blackmore. "You two are way more interesting than walking on the beach. Think I could join in with this little training thing? I could use some practice to make sure I'm 'up to snuff' too."

Izuku considered that for a moment, before shrugging. Ashido had a unique, highly mobile fighting style, and unlike Blackmore or himself, she was capable of attacking from a range with her acid. The practice would probably be a good change of pace. And it would help with Blackmore's 'fighting girls is icky' problem, so it was a win/win.

"Alright…" Izuku nodded, before waving Blackmore back over. "Three way, then."

"Oh, I don't know about that…" Ashido replied, coyly brushing a hand against her collar as she spoke. "You two might be a little much for me, at the same time."

Izuku said nothing, for what was there to say?

Several kilometres away, a very different situation was unfolding. Two people stood in an alleyway, the first pointing a gun at the second. The first was a tall, pale Japanese man, with slick black hair tied back in a ponytail evocative of the samurai of old. He was wearing a black suit, with a white shirt underneath the finely tailored jacket. The other was a young man clad in a white shirt with a deep V neckline revealing his bare chest and midriff underneath, with the features of a westerner and a white hair that sat tousled and disorderly on his scalp.

The man in black had a small black pistol in his hand, a plain and simple nine millimetre the likes of which the boy in white had never seen before. He knew it was a gun, but it didn't look to him like any sort of weapon he'd seen before. The guns he knew were six shooters and lever action rifles, break action shotguns and a soldier's musket, the bolt action of a marksman or Gatling gun of a machine gunner. He didn't know this strange, boxy weapon, matte black and almost shiny, missing any of the wooden furniture he recognized.

The boy in white was not a boy of this time, that much was clear to any who could see his thoughts. To his back was a dumpster, and to his front was the man with the gun. He's got me trapped, he thought to himself. That poor bastard.

The boy waited as the man glared at him, expecting the gun to fire any moment now. He had put himself between this man and an innocent woman, apparently a grave sin as far as the man was concerned. That wasn't the boy's problem; he was more curious as to where he had misplaced some thirty years of age, to return to his teens. He was also curious as to why the buildings on either side of him were monstrous grey monoliths, and why the man was carrying such a strange gun.

The boy was no stranger to time travel. It was his bread and butter. But he had never known himself to go forward, only back. Was this the future, he wondered? Or had the Stand that had pulled him from death moved him to some other reality entirely? He wasn't certain, he couldn't be. But he had saved a life, and was now being held at gunpoint. Two good things.

It should be noted that this boy was a very peculiar boy, for he had once been a fully grown man, long ago in a different world. But he didn't have time to embrace his peculiarities; he had a gun in his face and a metal box to his back. He needed to figure out a plan, and fast. His hands didn't shake; they were totally still. He felt no fear, no panic or worry. This was nothing to be afraid of. A man with a gun, the boy had seen, fought and killed much more dangerous men. Even if the man's gun was a queer, alien contraption to him, even if he himself lacked a suitable firearm, or any firearm at all, he wasn't worried.

"Reckon you'll want to put that down, son." The boy's voice was smooth and calm, unaffected by the cracks and pitch-shifts of puberty. "This isn't a fight you're going to enjoy."

"Shut up." the man retorted. "You got in the way of some important business. Now I'm gonna have to-"

"-want to put that down, son." The boy's voice was smooth and calm, unaffected by the cracks and pitch-shifts of puberty. "This isn't a fight you're going to enjoy."

"Shut up." the man retorted. "You got in the way of some important business. Now-"

"Reckon you'll want to put that down, son." The boy's voice was smooth and calm, unaffected by the cracks and pitch-shifts of puberty. "This isn't a fight you're going to enjoy."

"Shut up." the man retorted. "You… you…"

He looked confused suddenly, blinking and bringing his free hand up to his face, pressing his palm to his forehead. His eyes narrowed, and the gun wavered in his hand. The boy just stood there, expression clear, arms folded.

"What the…" the man shook his head. "I… I already… didn't you…"

"Mandom." the boy said.

"Shut up." the man retorted. "You… you…"

The man once again looked confused, blinking and bringing his free hand up to his face, pressing his palm to his forehead. His eyes narrowed, and the gun wavered in his hand. The boy just stood there, expression still clear, arms still folded.

"Like I said, a few times now;" the boy began walking forward, toward the man, who looked horrified suddenly. "This ain't a fight you're going to enjoy."

"GET DOWN!"

The sudden shout combined with something large and topped with red suddenly placing itself between the boy and the man was a stunning mix, leaving both completely frozen for a moment. The boy stared as the redhead, whose skin seemed angular and almost like solid rock, as he lunged at the man.

The gun fired, and the boy winced. Then the redhead laughed, seizing the gun in one hand and the man's shirt in the other, wrenching the first away before slamming the man into the wall. The gun skittered across the pavement, stopping at the boy in white's feet and laying there. The redhead reared his head back and slammed his stone-like forehead into the man in black's face, knocking him out quite swiftly and then dropping him onto the ground. With that finished, he turned and faced the boy in white, who was now holding and examining the gun with a keen eye.

"You okay?" he asked, smiling. "I heard the commotion and came as quick as I-"

The redhead laughed, seizing the gun in one hand and the man's shirt in the other, wrenching the first away before slamming the man into the wall. The gun skittered across the pavement, stopping at the boy in white's feet and laying there. The boy in white kicked it behind him, under the dumpster. The redhead reared his head back and slammed his stone-like forehead into the man in black's face, knocking him out quite swiftly and then dropping him onto the ground. With that finished, he turned and faced the boy in white, who was standing and watching the events with a curious gaze.

"You okay?" the redhead asked, smiling. "I heard the commotion and came as quick as I could. That guy didn't hurt you, did he? What was he even pointing a gun at you for?

"No, son, poor bastard didn't get a shot off 'fore you took him down." the boy replied. "As for your other question… figure I made him a touch mad when I stopped him from shooting a lady in the street. Led him for a merry chase, tried to get him close so my Stand would be more effective."

"Good, good…" the redhead smiled, before blinking. "I'm Eijirou Kirishima. Nice to… wait… your Stand? Like, your Quirk? I… I swear, I've heard that before."

He put a finger on his chin and pondered for a long moment, before remembering and raising a finger.

"No, son, poor bastard didn't get a shot off 'fore you took him down." the boy replied. "As for your other question… figure I made him a touch mad when I stopped him from shooting a lady in the street. Led him for a merry chase, tried to get him close so my Quirk would be more effective."

"That's good." the redhead replied, smiling. "That was really brave, what you did. What's your Quirk, anyways?"

"Quirk?" the boy in white considered that for a moment, piecing together the meaning of the word. "Ah, yeah. I call it Mandom. It, uh, it lets me see into the future a few seconds. Real useful, but I gotta be close to actually get it to do much."

The boy had no intentions of fighting this strange redhead with rock skin and pointed teeth, though he noted the rock skin had disappeared and turned back to normal human skin instead. As such, he had no intention of telling him what his power really did. If the boy cared so much, he could probably figure it out on his own.

"Wow, that's super cool!" the boy said. "And you tried to get him close so you could fight him? That's really manly, dude!"

The boy in white paused for a moment, considering that last statement.

"Eijirou Kirishima, eh?" he said, before offering the boy a hand to shake. "Name's Ringo Roadagain. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

**Author's Note:**

**Here's everybody else's favourite minor villain in Steel Ball Run! Still like Blackmore more for various reasons, though I can happily admit Ringo is a pretty cool guy with an awesome Stand. And before anybody asks, this isn't the promised second-favourite character. Ringo's probably my… seventh? Eighth? I'm not sure. He's cool, but he's not quite on the level of my favourites as far as my opinion goes.**

**Beyond that, here's Blackmore getting some insensitivity training, Mina trying to help and Izuku suffering all the same. Kirishima has made a new friend (and trust me, he will soon know of the True Man's World) and Ringo has entered the picture. Next up? Probably one more chapter of character stuff before we hit the Sports Festival. Hope everybody's enjoying things so far, and I'll see with the next one!**


	10. Taking The Napkin

The UA sport's festival! Such a display, such a thing to witness! A vast circular arena built for the sole purpose of showing the world the future of Japan's heroism, surrounded by multiple kilometres of empty ground to be modified for the needs of the Festival. Several keen-eyed visitors already noted the presence of vast green statues, and a massive rift in the ground with small circular platforms jutting from the ground below.

The Festival always drew an impressive crowd. Some ten-thousand people filled the arena's seats, heroes and agents and civilians alike, all gathered for the sole reason of seeing the next generation of heroes display their prowess, the fruits of their efforts. The first-year Festival was especially popular this year; the news cycle had been filled to the brim with the story of the USJ incursion for weeks, and now many wanted to see the young men and women who had survived such a dangerous affair.

Izuku Midoriya stood amidst the crowd of students, his own Class 1-A at the front of the pack. They would be first out, followed by Class 1-B and then the other courses, General Studies and Business and Support. The latter two didn't seem so excited to be present, besides a few particular individuals who couldn't have been more happy. Izuku noted one girl with bright pink hair and curious yellow eyes strapping several different machines to herself, each more elaborate than the last.

Wait, was that a jet pack?

Blackmore was at peace, his head bowed and his eyes closed. A casual observer might think he was afraid, or perhaps trying to quell his nerves. They would be wrong; he was at peace, and conversing with God. He had found little time lately for consultation with the divine, but in the face of the many trials before him he had wondered if perhaps a moment's prayer would be misplaced. He had witnessed the face of Jesus once, on that rainy night where he had met his death.

He felt no fear. Only regret that he had failed, and a burning desire to succeed this time. He would not fail Master Midoriya; he would fight and bleed and hurt to the edge of life itself, but never once would he fail. He had sworn it to himself, on his own blood.

Not again. Never again.

He was being watched, and he did not know it. Ibara Shiozaki was a girl who knew she was strange; and her strangeness had little to do with her body. The vines upon her head were almost subtle compared to her classmates many strange and wonderful differences. Her strangeness lay within the soul, moreso her unshakable belief that she had one.

Spirituality, particularly mono-secular religions such as the many Abrahamic faiths, had died a slow death in the wake of Quirks. At first regarded as abhorrent, when it became clear they were ubiquitous some sects labelled them gifts from God. Others disregarded them, for the body was not the object; it was the soul that was eternal. Ibara was somewhere in between; her power was not a gift, perhaps, but a sign of her fate, or even a test of sorts. She had power, it seemed to say, now what would she do with it?

She watched Raymond Blackmore, whose name she knew because she had been watching him for some time. She had seen him walking in the sky all those weeks ago, when he had first come to their world. She knew he was of another reality, for she had watched him fall from the heavens, and caught him. He did not remember her, and she had been told by the man in the pink coat to say nothing of the event. She had been convinced not by his words but by the golden pillars of light around him, and the strange sensation of goodness she had felt radiating from them.

Had she known the origin of those pillars, and of their former owner, she might even have known why.

Izuku took a deep breath and looked away from the girl staring at his butler. Perhaps she was just curious, though for some reason looking at her gave him a strange sense not unlike déjà-vu. He could shake the feeling he had seen her somewhere before, not just in the school halls but elsewhere within the school. He was broken from his reverie by speech.

_'This is where you will take your first step into the greater world, Izuku.'_ Funny Valentine advised inside Izuku's head, voice low and quite serious. _'You must take it with the utmost certainty and self-assurance. This is your day to win and your city to conquer. Victory is within your grasp; reach out and hold it tight, and don't let it go for an instant.'_

"I know." Izuku whispered, nodding. "I won't let you down, Valentine."

_'It is not I you should be reassuring.'_ Funny replied. _'Look inside yourself; only then will you be able to determine your readiness.'_

Izuku would have surrendered to self reflection, but before he could lower his head he heard a voice from ahead calling for the classes to start moving. 1-A was, of course, to go first. He beckoned for his classmates to follow him, taking a moment to adjust the collar of his blue and white gym-suit before rolling his shoulders and leading his class out. His hair had grown again; it seemed to do that much faster now, and he had let his mother tie it back in a simple ponytail. That had gotten a few curious looks from his classmates, but Izuku had mostly just ignored them; he was comfortable enough, and he had learned a long time ago to ignore the stares of others.

As the class marched out through the concrete tunnel leading from the assembly hall to the main stadium itself, they were bombarded by a wave of sound. It seemed like half of Japan was in the bleachers of the arena, shouting and cheering for the next generation of heroes. Izuku looked around at them as he walked out, taking in the numbers and raising a hand to wave. Present Mic was announcing their arrival over the speaker system, heralding them as the bold young heroes who fought back the villainous invasion of the USJ.

It was loud. It was overwhelming. But not to Funny Valentine, who had held many rallies and of course been to both of his own inaugurations. Those events had been thunderously loud, tens of thousands of his countrymen excited to see him as their new President, overjoyed that he had won the day with their help. To Funny, this was just another crowd, another group of people he, or at least Izuku, would be in service to.

Izuku bolstered himself with Funny's experience, drawing strength from the older man's lack of worry or fear. He waved with one hand and kept the other at his side, his posture straight and narrow, shoulders slightly back. Behind him his classmates were waving and cheering back, and he couldn't begrudge them that in the slightest; if it weren't for Funny's tutelage, he would likely be doing the same thing without any regret. It was easy to get caught up in the moment.

Class 1-A lined up, and then Class 1-B made their way to the field. There's was a less excited reception, though cheering and shouting were still in ample supply. 1-B has proven a less exciting course than 1-A; Izuku's class had fought through a small army of villains in a stunning holdout action waiting for reinforcements, winning the day with courage and tenacity. 1-B, in contrast, had simply attended their courses, performed exercises and just generally lived the lives of normal students.

As such, Present Mic and the crowd seemed much less overjoyed. Izuku could see the expressions of several 1-B students sour as they heard the audible drop in volume, but others remained as excited as 1-A had. A mixed bag of oddities, 1-B; a boy with a speech bubble for a head, another with pitch black skin, a girl with vines growing from her scalp...

Izuku felt a strange thrill run down his spine, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap softly triggering itself inside him. This girl was clearly important, or would be in time. She shared some connection to his Stand. Izuku glanced sidelong at Blackmore, standing to his right, and noted that his butler was also watching the girl with the vines for hair. His expression was inscrutable, but the pink on his cheeks told a story his poker face could not hide.

Ah, Izuku thought. It was to be that sort of connection. He'd have to investigate the girl later.

The sight of Midnight, the R-Rated Heroine, had Blackmore literally looking up into the sky and clenching his teeth hard enough to produce creaking sounds from his jaw. He wasn't going to look, the degeneracy and loose morals of this world would not get to him. He was a gentleman and a man under control of his own body. He was strong in spirit. He would not look.

His spirit was strong. But his flesh... his flesh was many things. It was not, however, weak. He did not look. But he listened, and that was more than enough to have him turning red, reaching for his hip to return his mask to his face where it belonged. The event organizers had tried to confiscate it, but it always reappeared at his side when it was too far away. He had explained it as a side effect of his Quirk, and they had sighed before letting him pass with it at his hip.

Secure behind the lacquered wood, he felt as though he could look. So he lowered his head and opened his eyes, and then made a sound somewhere between a squeak and a choked gasp. There was little flesh being shown, at least... bare. But the outfit... skintight material, all around, her torso wrapped in some sort of leather harness that accentuated her assets to a frankly ludicrous degree. Blackmore couldn't stop looking, until he forced his eyes shut again.

Izuku had seen Midnight before, in television interviews and on magazines and the like. Her costume wasn't new to him; compared to her older costumes, this one was downright conservative, actually. It was only with the aid of Funny, who himself preferred blondes, that he managed to keep his dignity intact. Several of his male classmates weren't so lucky. Bakugou muttered a series of borderline unintelligible words under his breath, which Izuku ignored.

_'His spite is beneath you now.'_ Funny noted, sounding somewhat impressed. _'Very good, Izuku. You must never let yourself be defined by your enemies, or even your rivals. Remain true to yourself, and he will be left weaker.'_

There was another roar of cheers and applause, Midnight's voice now gone. Izuku looked up to see Bakugou approaching the stage. Yes... he had been first in the entry exams. He was to recite the student's oath and give a short speech, all that fun stuff. Izuku didn't expect him to; as a matter of fact, he was silently waiting for the bombshell to drop. Bakugou was far too abnormal to simply obey the expectations of his peers.

So it was that he stood alone on the stage, hands in his pockets, before leaning in toward the mic and staring down the entire student body.

"I vow to win." he said, voice low and bored. "The rest of you can just get out of the way."

Izuku smiled despite himself. That was Bakugou for you. It was just too bad Izuku was also quite determined to win; and that podium step wasn't quite big enough for two.

"AAAND THAT'S KATSUKI BAKUGOU OF CLASS 1-A, DECLARING WAR!" Present Mic howled after a short delay, his voice booming through the stadium. "LOOKS LIKE TODAY'S FESTIVAL IS GOING TO BE ONE HECK OF A SHOW, LISTENERS!"

The audience and assembled students seemed quite displeased; several people in the stands were outright demanding Bakugou be removed from the Festival for his lack of respect. Other students were cussing him out. Bakugou let the shouting wash over him, looking bored as could be. He was a man of action; all this preamble bored him. He just wanted to get the part where he crushed the extras and showed the world just how strong he was, and taught the rest of the class who the real future number-one was going to be.

Izuku rolled his shoulders as Midnight announced the first competition; an obstacle race. His smile was downright vicious; with Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, a race wasn't a competition; it was a cakewalk. He began loosening his top, before pausing, taking in the tunnel that would lead out into the course proper. Cramped as could be... perhaps...

The first years all assembled, ready to charge forward in the first event. Izuku grinned, pointing at the tunnel and channeling D4C. The ghostly armour formed just as the starting gun fired, and a stampede toward the cramped tunnel began.

The front-runners entered... and found themselves sprinting out through the exit... of the entrance tunnel they had first come through. First dozens, then well over a hundred students came to screeching halt as they somehow moved from the tunnel to the wrong end of the stadium. All but a few students ended up on the wrong side of the stadium, staring across its entire width as Izuku casually strolled through the tunnel, disappearing from sight.

For a moment, silence reigned in the stadium.

_'This is the first step, Izuku.'_ Funny said. _'Now... you take the napkin!'_

Izuku stepped out from between a massive fabric banner and the wall of the arena, less than ten feet from the finish line. Nobody even saw him until he stepped over the marked white line, and the first place buzzer rang. Suddenly, thousands of eyes and hundreds of cameras were all staring at a thin boy with long green hair tied back in a ponytail, dressed in the white, blue and red of a UA gym uniform, standing at the finish line with his hands behind his back.

Izuku raised a hand, giving the audience and the millions watching on TV a casual wave, before dramatically bowing.

Silence.

Whispers.

Cheers. A few at first, scattered, until people began to slowly realize that somehow, some way, this boy had just won the race.

"AND AFTER A CONFUSING START, WE HAVE A WINNER OF THE FIRST EVENT!" Present Mic began to shout again, as his brain caught up with the events of the last minute. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; CLASS 1-A PRESIDENT, IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

The cheers began in earnest. Many were still confused, but some had began to catch on. The boy had a Warp Quirk, they supposed. That would explain what had happened; he had warped his opponents into a disadvantaged position, before warping himself to the finish line. Unfair? Absolutely. But this was the UA Sports Festival; using one's Quirk to the fullest extent was the point of the whole event, to show the world your potential as a hero. And Izuku Midoriya had just shown the world he had quite a lot of potential indeed.

_'And so it begins.'_ Funny commented. _'You are a target now, you know. Be wary.'_

Izuku said nothing, taking his time to exult in the emotion of victory. The other students had started to move again, some of them at least, but others were still flabbergasted at the situation.

Katsuki Bakugou was swearing up a storm, using his explosions to propel himself through the air over the stadium walls to avoid that stupid tunnel. How the fuck had shitty Deku managed to take first? Right after he declared he was going to win, too! Was the boy just trying to fuck with him?

Tenya Iida was already sprinting at top speeds. Midoriya was a dangerous rival, and his Warp Quirk evidently had even more applications than Tenya had previously thought. That was fine, however; Tenya would simply have to push himself harder to keep up. He would not disgrace the Iida family name.

Tsuyu Asui has been teleported by Midoriya's Quirk before; she knew that strange stomach-dropping sensation. Her powerful legs carried her with long hops, powering ahead of the other students through sheer determination alone.

Somewhere behind her Momo was also running, rapidly considering what to build to give herself an advantage.

Several students with eyes glazed over were running with a certain purple-haired student on their shoulders, who was sitting in silence, considering his next move.

Shoto Todoroki was skating along ice of his own creation, past most of his competition, all while reconsidering his prior assessment of Midoriya. The boy was much stronger than he had expected. That was fine; Shoto was still stronger. He was sure of it.

And in an apartment in downtown Musutafu, a young man was gripped with excitement. He grabbed the shoulder of the young girl beside him, pointing at the screen of their tiny television with wide eyes.

"That's the guy!" he declared, scratching at his face as he shouted. "I can feel it! That's him! That's the one!"

The girl stared at the screen wide eyed as well, one gloved hand coming up to touch the boy's hand. He grinned and jumped up off the couch, grabbing her by the waist and picking her up, spinning around.

"We're set, Eri!" the boy declared. "We just have to find him and we're good to go, the blonde guy said so!"

The girl giggled as she was swung around and around, long white hair flying all over the place. She had a patch bandage over one eye, the other a glittering red, and her skin was pale as could be. The boy spinning her was tall and well built, with a short black pompadour topping his head. By far his most defining feature was the pair of scars on his face, crossing from the upper left and right corners of his forehead across the bridge of his nose and down to the opposite corner of his face at the edges of his jaw.

Despite this fearsome appearance, he looked happy as could be, setting the girl back down on the couch and sitting down beside her. The girl snuggled close, pulling a threadbare blanket around the both of them. Their apartment was small and nearly barren, but it was shelter for the two of them, with a futon and a small kitchenette.

"Okuchan..." the boy heard, glancing down at the girl, who was looking at him with a nervous glint in her eye. "W-will... will Eri get to come too?"

"Of course!" Okuyasu Nijimura said, reaching down to touch her face with a gentle hand. "I promised I wouldn't leave you behind, ever. And I keep my promises!"

**AN:**

**And here he is; my favourite JoBro and favourite character in all of JoJo's; Okuyasu Nijimura. What's he gonna be up to? Well, the ideal shounen crew always needs a straight-forward bruiser, and Okuyasu is by his own admission 'not very smart, you know'. As for how he got here, and what he's doing with Eri; tune in after the obligatory tournament arc, when I explain just that!**

**Warp Quirks make races unfair and that's something I wanted to point out. Izuku isn't here to play nice; he's here to prove himself to the world, and to himself. Funny's influence will extend far and wide, so expect Izuku to act a little differently.**

**This update took a while; I got distracted by some other stuff, but I figured I should get back on track sooner rather than later. So here you go, beloved readers, and don't forget to direct questions, concerns and criticisms to the review sections or my PM inbox. I love interacting with you guys, it makes this whole story much more fun to write.**

**Hope you enjoyed, and have a lovely day.**


	11. Changing the Rules

Inside the apartment she shared with her son and the mysterious young Raymond Blackmore, Inko Midoriya was hysterical. She had just seen her son, her son who for so long had been Quirkless, helpless, hopeless... he had just come in first in an event at the UA Sports Festival! There he was on her television, a smile on his face, his hair tied back in that roguish ponytail and a grin on his face, pointing at the camera confidently. He knew which channel she would be watching, it was the same channel they always watched. He winked, before the feed switched to an announcer talking about his shocking early victory, quite possibly the fastest in UA history. That was still being debated, apparently, but nobody was quite sure one way or another.

Inko didn't care if it was the fastest victory in all of human history. It was a victory for her son, her beloved son whom she had foolishly doubted so much, and that was all that mattered. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, cleaning up drips and drops of water before sniffling a little and returning her attentions to the TV. On screen Izuku was standing, hands folded behind his back, waiting at the finish line for others to arrive. He was pointing at the tunnel leading to the finish line, however, that strange ethereal figure forming around him.

On the television camera it was hard to make out, but it was clearly there. Bother Katsuki Bakugou and another boy with two-time hair in red and white were racing toward the finish line, dodging a variety of mines, but disaster struck as they hit the tunnel Izuku was pointing at; they both disappeared from sight. The cameras adjusted; the two were back at the starting tunnel, Bakugou cursing up a storm and the other silently continuing to slide along a track of ice.

Inko saw Blackmore moving toward the finish, sprinting at full-bore toward the finish line. He had used his liquid-form to move over the large chasm obstacle, sliding along the ropes faster than any person could hope to crawl, and therefore had given himself an impressive lead. Izuku saw him coming, clearly, lowering his hand for a moment and letting him move through the tunnel.

"COMING IN SECOND PLACE; RAYMOND BLACKMORE, AN EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM THE USA!" Present Mic shouted, clearly excited. "WHY DID MIDORIYA LET HIM THROUGH HIS IMPASSIBLE QUIRK? WHO KNOWS, LISTENERS?"

Another boy was racing toward the tunnel, a tall muscular fellow with glasses on his face and dark hair. Inko recognized him as Tenya Iida; her son mentioned the boy on occasion, apparently they were rather like friends at school. Behind him was a girl with long black hair, riding on a bicycle. Tenya was faster, the engines in his calves incredibly powerful, but he too hit the barrier Izuku had made and disappeared. The girl came to a screaming halt, hitting the brakes on her bicycle and turning it so she didn't enter Izuku's strange portal.

In the arena, Izuku grinned, glancing at Blackmore.

"Do I let her through?" he asked his butler. "Or should we let her wait a while?"

"I believe you should let her through, sir." Blackmore said. "Besides, sir, isn't it rather unsporting to continue to participate in the event after finishing, sir? Apologies if I overstep my bounds, sir; I simply do not wish to see you branded as a cheater, or something else of a similar sort, sir."

"If they didn't want me doing this, Present Mic would have said something by now." Izuku replied, shrugging. "Besides; isn't the point of an obstacle race to find creative ways around the obstacles to maximize your success?"

Blackmore considered that for a moment.

"I was never really given to obstacle racing in the past, sir." he admitted, nodding sheepishly. "But I believe I can see the logic in that. So you are engaging in the race once again, sir, not as a competitor but instead as a sort of additional obstacle, one for the various assembled parties of your former opponents to attempt to surmount?"

"Yes." Izuku agreed, nodding. "Precisely that. Also, never stop talking that way, it's amazing."

"Understood, sir." Blackmore replied, bowing his head before looking toward the tunnel. "Ah, here come those two again. Fearsome fellows, aren't they?"

Bakugou and Todoroki were tearing up the track a second time, their hyper-mobile Quirks letting them tear past most of the obstacles with utter ease. Izuku didn't relent on using D4C, his finger staying levelled at the tunnel.

"Come on..." he said, voice low. "Show me. Show me you can do more then overpower and overwhelm, show me you can think..."

Bakugou spotted him through the tunnel and howled with rage, pushing himself to go even faster, before coming to a screeching halt a few inches from the area of D4C's effect. He scowled, staring at the tunnel for a moment, while Todoroki came to a stop also. Izuku hummed softly, a meaningless tune as he waited for the three at the tunnel entrance to figure out a way inside.

Todoroki frowned, before a pillar of ice shot up from under him, propelling him up and over the arena wall. Bakugou swore loudly and began following him with explosions burning from both hands. Izuku watched as they disappeared behind the wall, then reappeared at the top. Todoroki slid down an ice slide on his way down, coming to a stop and stepping over the finish line with a frown.

"THIRD PLACE GOES TO SHOTO TODOROKI!" Present Mic announced, leading to Todoroki scowling before walking past Izuku and standing in the field alone.

Bakugou came down a couple seconds later, landing on all fours and blasting himself over the finish line with a final roar of anger. Outclassed by the half-and-half emo, outclassed by that stupid blonde in the mask, and worst of all, outclassed by shitty fucking Deku! Quirkless, useless Deku, born without power, without strength, the sort of person that was supposed to stay beneath Bakugou, a stepping stone on his road to the top. And here he was, first fucking place, right after Bakugou swore he would win in front of so many people...

"FOURTH PLACE GOES TO KATSUKI BAKUGOU!" Present Mic shouted, his voice like salt in the wound that now marred Bakugou's pride.

Bakugou swore again, before stalking away and standing off to one side, hands shaking with pent up fury and jaw clenched, forcibly biting back a withering tirade of enraged curses.

Blackmore watched him go, before turning his attention to the arena exterior and seeing a familiar figure moving across the last stretch of the race; a girl of average size, with long green vines emerging from her scalp instead of hair. She was running, but came to a stop when she saw Yaoyorozu standing in front of the arch. Then she saw Izuku, and her eyes narrowed.

Blackmore watched as she scanned her surroundings, before looking up and nodding once. Her vines lashed out, digging into the concrete of the arena wall, and she began climbing. Furthermore, vines descended and wrapped around Yaoyorozu, who looked quite surprised in the moments before she was completely entangled, and the two began climbing. Up one side they went, and down the other they came, past the cheering audience in the stands, before they came to land on the ground, mere feet from the finish line.

Yaoyorozu emerged from the bundle of vines and staggered forward, confused, resulting in her crossing the finish line. Present Mic announced her fifth-place position. Izuku scarcely noticed; he was busy watching as the vine-haired girl looked at him with the strangest expression of disappointment on her face, before she clambered back up and over the wall, without crossing the finish line.

Izuku grinned.

"Ah..." he said, voice low. "So that's the game we're playing now..."

Blackmore swallowed, hard.

He kept up D4C's influence over the tunnel, but he needn't have bothered. Every student who approached was spoken to by the vine-haired girl, who would then carry them over the wall. Several students refused; Shoji scaled the wall with his six arms, impressing all present, while the pink-haired girl from the support department flew over with what was indeed a jet-pack. Sero had scaled the wall alone, but Kirishima had needed and gratefully accepted the assistance of Ibara.

But most accepted assistance from the vine-haired girl. Present Mic took more than one audible note of this almost excessive display of sportsmanship, before contestant number thirty-nine was over the finish line and the vine-haired girl, named Ibara Shiozaki according to Present Mic's running commentary, stepped over the finish line herself and ended the race.

"AAAND THAT'S A WRAP WITH NUMBER FORTY; IBARA SHIOZAKI!" Present Mic called. "IT WAS A STRANGE RACE, LISTENERS, BUT I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE IT WAS AN IMPRESSIVE SHOW NONE THE LESS!"

Izuku let D4C drop, the tunnel usable once again, before rolling his shoulders and turning to walk toward the stage where Midnight looked like she was going to announce the next event. He was stopped, however, by a hand on his shoulder, and when he turned he found Ibara behind him, eyes narrowed once again.

"Hello, Shiozaki." Izuku said, nodding. "I have to say, I was impressed by your-"

"You tried to sabotage the event." she cut him off. "Why?"

Izuku took a long breath and then let it out in a sigh, eyes closing for a moment before he looked over his shoulder at the rest of the students assembled. Most of Class 1-A and 1-B had made it, making up the majority of the forty students. Izuku smiled.

"I wanted to see." he said. "I wanted to know whom among this mess of egos and arrogance would be willing to put aside their pride and accept help. One final obstacle, one most Quirks would be helpless against. Not a test for their power, but for their willingness to cooperate."

"So this was a test?" she asked.

"Yes." Izuku smiled at her, before letting D4C form around himself. "This power of mine... it shows me things. My consciousness exists across an infinite number of realities, where these same things happen time and time again. The same race, the same winners, the same losers, the same barks and shouts and taunts. But this time..."

He looked at the crowd again. New faces had made it. Not every hero class student had crossed the threshold, unwilling or unable to accept help. The blonde with the loud voice, like Bakugou but with no visible Quirk, had refused and been left behind. Kaminari and Tooru had both been too slow, unable to reach the arena fast enough. Others had succeeded in their place.

A business class student, adjusting his collar and looking quite shocked he had made it this far. General studies students, two of them; the one with the purple hair and eye bags, who Izuku knew almost always made it. The other was a girl, tall and thin, who rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting impatiently. The support course girl, the only from her class.

Present Mic had announced their arrivals with audible surprise; business course students never made it this far. General studies course students could on occasion, and maybe a support course savant or two, but four non-hero course students at once? Almost unheard of!

"New faces are here now, who in other worlds would never have had this chance to shine." Izuku continued, looking into Ibara's eyes as he spoke. "So do not think of me me as some bully who sabotaged other's chances; I changed the script this all runs by, and let others have their chance where before they would be left to linger in mediocrity."

Ibara stared at him for a long moment, before looking at Blackmore, who shadowed Izuku as always. He still had his mask on, meeting her gaze with his own hidden expression, his stance calm and level. She thought for a moment.

"Perhaps... perhaps I have misjudged you." Ibara said, nodding slowly. "Yes. Whatever comes next, I will not rush to conclusions, Midoriya. Good luck."

She nodded, before stepping past him to join the crowd of students. Izuku sighed, rolling his shoulders. His knowledge of other realities where the race had been shorter had already warned him of the coming inevitability. He looked at Blackmore, who he knew he could not side with. Blackmore needed to learn to work alone and with others. No, Izuku would find other partners.

Then Midnight spoke, and Izuku listened.

"For the next event, we'll be doing something a little different..." she smiled coyly. "That's right! It's time for..."

"A chariot competition..." Izuku muttered.

"Capture the flag!" Midnight said, cracking the riding crop she held in her right hand to punctuate her remark.

It also handily punctuated the choked gasp that escaped Izuku's throat despite himself. Had he altered his own reality that much? No other reality he could comprehend had capture the flag as their second event! None of them! Not even the weirder ones where he was the only man in the class or the one where he was a vampire! Blackmore looked at his master with concern, but Izuku waved him off. Capture the flag. Izuku could play capture the flag.

"The rules are simple!" Midnight continued. "Ten teams of four, no more and no less! You get to choose your own teams, so think carefully! Each contestant will receive points for their placement in the last event; fortieth gets five points, thirty-ninth gets ten, and so on. Except for first place..."

Izuku rolled his shoulders. Ten-million.

"First place starts with zero points!" Midnight declared, cracking her riding crop again and making Izuku facepalm. Of course one change wasn't enough... now there were to be two.

Suddenly everybody was staring at Izuku, as he sighed softly. Zero points. He'd have to work hard for a win then; no chance he could just stay on the defensive. He let D4C sheath his body once more; he needed to consult the other realities for information. On Quirks, more importantly; he needed to know what he was dealing with. Midnight told the students they had ten minutes to form their teams, and Izuku got to work.

First, Defense. Some who could take hits and keep moving; three prospects for that. Kirishima, who was already speaking with Ashido, or perhaps the class 1-B student Tetsutetsu, who was like Kirishima in almost every way. Or, if both of those failed, Tsuburaba. Solid Air could come in handy as far as Defense was concerned.

Tsuburaba had come in thirty-seventh, and nobody seemed all too interested in speaking with him, Izuku noted. He was only worth twenty points, after all. But that Quirk... Izuku made his way toward the boy, tapping him on the shoulder.

Kosei Tsuburaba was standing alone, trying to figure out who to team up with. A few students from his own class would probably be his best bet, he figured. Manga and Kojiro would make for a great team, and then if they could convince Ibara or Yui to join up with them they'd be even better off. Yui could supersize his air walls and make them impassible, while Manga could fend off enemies and Kojiro could lay traps with his glue... then something tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to face Izuku, startled. What did class 1-A's rep want with him? Was he trying to size up the competition?

"I require your assistance." Izuku said, making Tsuburaba pause in his thinking and listen. "Would you care to join my team?"

Tsuburaba stared at him for a second, and Izuku smiled.

"My D4C allows me us to be hyper mobile, and your Solid Air could create platform for us in mid-air." Izuku explained. "Furthermore, my Quirk works when an object or individual moves between two solid objects. Were those objects invisible..."

Izuku grinned, a wicked expression. Tsuburaba took a moment to catch up, but when he did...

Both smiled, and Izuku offered the boy a hand. Tsuburaba took it gratefully.

"Alright... team." Tsuburaba said. "But we need two more, right?"

Izuku glanced over his shoulder, where the business class student and Kyoka Jiro were both talking, the former looking quite nervous indeed.

"I have two in mind already." Izuku replied. "Come with me, if you would."

**AN:**

**And that's another one gone and done! **

**Making use of low-tier characters is one of the best parts about fan fiction, in my opinion; sure, I could have Izuku form the ultimate power team with all the heavy hitters who have long, detailed backstories, but where's the fun in using the characters everybody's already seen before? Give me D-listers or give me death, I say!**

**Ibara is great, but Kyoka is the best girl of all and if you think otherwise I hate to say it but you are morally, legally, spiritually, physically and objectively incorrect. **

**Izuku isn't quite omniscient, as I hoped to make clear here, though having access to infinite realms full of other Izuku's to collect information means that yes, he will know a lot of stuff. Especially about Quirks because what else would Izuku ever pay attention to?**

**Capture the flag will be fun. I have plans, lots of plans, and you'll get to see them all. As for the other JoJo's characters, Ringo and Okuyasu; they'll be here eventually, fear not. **

**As it stands, however, this is farewell from me for now. Hope you enjoyed!**


	12. IT'S A TRAP

Toga Himiko was a damaged individual.

She was wholly aware of this, of course. She practically revelled in it. She thought of it as her greatest virtue; she was completely and utterly different from everyone else. As far as she was concerned, normal, non-crazy people were boring. She was crazy and that was much, much more fun. Crazy meant unpredictable, unknowable, mysterious and dangerous all at once. And she liked all of those words! They were some of her favourites!

People who looked at her could tell she was damaged, of course. It was obvious, painfully so; her eyes glittered with the fractal light of someone who had maybe gone a little too far in the name of... something. Her fingers were never still, playing with the buttons on her baggy beige uniform jacket, loose strands of her hair, the hems of her puffy sleeves and, of course, the handles of all her different knives.

Himiko Toga was a knife enthusiast. She loved them all; butterfly and butcher, kitchen and combat, serrated and straight-razor. If it was made of metal and sharp on at least one edge, Himiko Toga liked it a lot. Probably too much. She didn't care if this was strange; she was strange. So too were her habits. That was just how the world worked. People had strange interests.

"First you wet the stone, then you take the blade..." she chanted softly, giggling as she skipped down the hallway, toward her apartment door. "Then you scrape it down and hear the sound it makes..."

She touched a hand to the door and opened it up, slipping inside apartment number three-zero-four. It was a nice little place, with a kitchenette and a bathroom and a futon on the floor, and a big knife block full of fun sharp things. She kicked off her sneakers before padding inside softly, looking all around the room. No surprise visitors today either... she sighed. What a bore! Although... her closet door was slightly ajar. Maybe inside she'd be able to find someone interesting. She crept closer, hand behind her back and reaching for the switchblade she kept in her back pocket. When she sat it would press into her butt and remind her of its presence and she just loved it.

"Hello~~..." she sang, voice soft. "Whose hiding~~? Is it a nasty old pervert I'm gonna have to slice and dice...?"

She pulled out the switchblade, nimbly unfolding it with one hand and grinning at the way its edge glinted. She sharpened it obsessively; its edge could cut flesh as easily as butter, with little tearing or snagging. Clean, easy, and a clean cut bled so much if she nicked the right arteries. She licked her lips, before reaching out and grabbing the closet door, wrenching it open.

There was a knife pointed square at her face. She froze, eyes wide, before darting backwards and raising her own knife in a loose grip. She had found such a cute thing in her closet too, a short, scrawny girl with a mess of black hair on her head, held back by a loose orange ribbon worn like some kind of ragged bandana. She didn't look Japanese, either, more like some kind of westerner. Maybe European?

"Uh-oh..." she giggled again, staring at the girl with a grin. "Looks like I found you... and you aren't an old pervert... you're kinda cute!"

The girl looked disturbed, glaring at Toga through narrowed blue eyes. Toga batted her lashes flirtatiously, taking a step closer. The girl had no room to back up, so she stayed where she was and kept the knife pointed square at Toga's eyes.

"So... what're you doing in my closet?" Toga asked. "Were you hoping to steal something of mine? Oh, naughty~~, I might have to tell the police..."

"No police!" the girl shouted, shaking her head rapidly. "N-no police... a-and if you try to call them I'll cut you!"

Toga giggled again. Cute, scared AND open to cutting? She almost checked to make sure it wasn't Christmas morning and this was all some kind of elaborate best-present-ever. Problem was, she wasn't sure who out there would give her a present like this. Maybe that cute guy across the hall, the one with the little girl he said definitely wasn't his daughter? Nah, he looked too normal to do something like this. This... this must have been a gift from fate itself!

"But if I don't call the police, what should I do to you instead?" Toga asked, cocking her head to one side and putting on her favourite expression of clearly faked confusion. "Maybe I should cut you up. I bet your blood tastes delicious... I've never had a westerner before."

"Stay away!" the girl shouted, jabbing the knife towards Toga. "O-or I'll use my Aerosmith and shoot you full of holes!"

Toga's grin turned into a sickeningly sweet smile, and she took a single step toward the girl, slowly lowering her knife.

"But shooting is so boring..." Toga replied, shaking her head and pitching her voice as if she were admonishing a child. "Cutting is so much more fun, right?"

The girl swallowed, before lunging forward, knife flashing. Toga ducked under the swing, lashing out with her own blade, but the girl twisted away. She had an orange coat tied around her waist, and Toga's knife got caught in the fabric for a moment before she wrenched it out. The girl dove away, fleeing toward the door.

"Get away from me!" she shouted. "You crazy _cagna_!"

"But we're having so much fun, right?" Toga giggled again, chasing after the girl and grabbing the collar of her black shirt, pulling her back toward her. "Come on, just one little cut... I promise I'll lick it clean too!"

Toga swung the girl around, into the wall next to the door, before raising her knife and sticking it right in the girl's face, wiggling it back and forth. The girl closed her eyes, afraid, and Toga smiled sweetly as she leaned in close, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. The girl shuddered and Toga giggled.

"Don't worry, it'll only hurt a little..." she promised with a whisper, before raising the knife. "What's your name?"

"N-N-Narancia..." the girl whimpered.

"Okay Narancia... that's a cute name..." Toga pressed the knife against the girl's fair flesh, pricking the skin. "Just a little cut, okay? Then you can cut me a little, and then we can..."

Toga gasped, feeling a savage pain in her arm. Narancia, subtle as could be, had snaked her own knife up between them and jabbed it into her shoulder! Toga staggered backward, reaching up and grasping the knife, before being slammed backward into the kitchenette counter by a kick to the gut courtesy of Narancia. The girl snarled, lunging forward and punching Toga in the face, slamming a blow across her jaw and knocking her clean out.

There was a knock at the door. Narancia, eyes still blazing, grabbed the handle and opened the door up.

His eyes met those of Okuyasu Nijimura, who was investigating the series of loud noises from the apartment where the creepy blonde girl lived. The two stared at each other for a moment, before blinking. In both their eyes, they saw a flash of pink and blue and white light.

"Holy crap!" Narancia gasped. "Y-y-you've met the guy in the pink, right?"

"And you are too!" Okuyasu replied, nodding. "You're looking for that Izuku kid, right? So am I!"

The two were stunned. Their names were Narancia Ghirga and Okuyasu Nijimura. One of them, Okuyasu, was a Japanese high-school student who had been blown to pieces and summarily resurrected, losing two years of age. The other, Narancia, was an Italian delinquent and mobster who had been impaled on a series of metal spikes while inside another person's body, similarly brought back from the afterlife by a strange man in a pink coat. Both were frozen for a long moment, before Okuyasu noticed that the smaller boy was bleeding from the cheek.

Then he saw his neighbour on the ground with a knife stuck in her shoulder.

"Dude, what the hell!" Okuyasu shouted, looking between Narancia and Toga's unconscious form. "Did you kill her?"

"She tried to drink my blood!" Narancia replied. "I was just looking around because I had this weird feeling in my gut and next thing I know she walks in and starts saying I'm cute and then she tries to stab me!"

Both boys began panicking, Okuyasu looking around the hallway, seeing Eri poking her head out from behind the door to their own apartment. He waved her back inside somewhat frantically.

"We need to, I dunno, stop the bleeding!" Okuyasu said, pushing past Narancia and into the room. "Get her on the futon while I look for bandages!"

Narancia did as he was bid, panicking almost as much as Okuyasu. The girl, Toga, she had said? She was still out, but the knife was still inside her. Creepily, she was smiling, like she was happy to have been stabbed. Yeesh. She reminded him a little of that freaky Cioccolata guy, the one with the disgusting fungus stand.

Neither of them knew just what to do, but they were working together to figure it out. Okuyasu spent a long five minutes in the bathroom before finding a small first aid kit behind the toilet, which was a curious place indeed to hide one. He brought it out and started rifling through it for some bandages or tape, while Narancia pulled the knife out of the girl with the careful touch of one who had pulled many knives out of many people. He then pulled the girl's sweater off, refusing to look at her chest while Okuyasu began pressing gauze padding on the wound.

Narancia taped it into place, and the two took a second to breathe.

"So... what do we do now?" Okuyasu asked.

Narianca shrugged.

"I dunno." he replied. "I'm not actually very smart."

Okuyasu nodded.

"Neither am I, honestly." he replied. "We should track down that Izuku guy. He probably knows what to do."

It was Narancia's turn to nod.

**AN:**

**Narianca is the best trap and Okuyasu is the best idiot. Together, they are; the Best Boys.**

**Toga is… gonna be fun in the future. Her and Blackmore are going to have an interesting relationship, to put it mildly. **

**Ringo's somewhere around. Don't worry, he'll be back in due time. **

**Next chapter; back to our regularly scheduled broadcast of the obligatory tournament arc, where Izuku assembled a D-team and it's all kinds of fun. **

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	13. Answers In the Past

Kensuke Tororo was well aware he wasn't really hero material. It wasn't his desire to become a hero, and it never really had been. His reasoning was simple, inelegant but understandable; Kensuke Tororo was afraid of the responsibility of being a hero. He was afraid of having to make a choice that could result in death, for himself or someone else. He wasn't sure enough of his own conviction, of his courage, of his strength or even of his Quirk.

His strange, peculiar, wonderful Quirk.

Kensuke Tororo had been Quirkless. For most of his life, in fact, until that fateful day a few weeks ago when he'd had a dream. A strange dream, a horrifying dream.

A man wedged in the wheel-well of a train, torn to shreds. Another man in white, standing before him battered, bruised and impossibly alive. Anger, sorrow, a desire for vengeance filling his heart and coursing through his veins like boiling oil. His fingers had curled into fists in his sleep, wrenching at his blankets. His little sister had woken him up when he had shouted, padding across the room and throwing herself on her big brother who she thought was dying.

Kensuke had awoken to find glittering, ethereal strings running from his fingertips, wrapping around everything they could find, even his sister. She had said they tickled, giggling, before both she and Kensuke had realized just what this was.

Kensuke had a Quirk now.

Now Kensuke stood alone in the middle of the field, a student of economics in the domain of students of heroism. Nobody around him seemed to even really notice him, or care that he was there. He was a trespasser, some business-class flunky who had managed to exploit a Quirk that he had just sort of received and gotten twenty-eighth place in the race. He wandered in a small circle, moving closer to groups of other students before backing away and moving to another one. If he kept orbiting, it wouldn't be too obvious he was without a team, right?

He wasn't stupid. He would need a team eventually, it was inevitable. And somebody would have to take him, whether or not they wanted him. Ten teams of four, meaning there was no room for extras. No room for spares like him. He would fit in somewhere, whether or not the team he ended up with actually wanted him.

He rolled his shoulders, swallowed his almost nonexistent pride, and waited.

"Yo."

Kensuke twisted around at the sound of a girl's voice, finding himself meeting the eyes of a thin girl with long purple hair, a pair of fleshy tendrils ending in what looked like headphone jacks hanging from her ears. Weird Quirk, but he couldn't exactly judge. His Quirk made unbreakable strings come out of his fingers, not exactly the most standard superpower in the world.

"Hi..." Kensuke murmured, nodding. "C-can I help you?"

"Yeah." the girl glanced all around them, before looking back at him again. "I'm Jiro. Kyoka Jiro, Class 1-A. You don't have a team yet, right? Neither do I."

Kensuke wasn't sure what to say to that.

"So?" Kyoka continued, looking him in the eye. "You wanna form a team or what?"

Oh.

OH.

"Oh, y-yeah!" Kensuke began rapidly nodding, giving himself a bit of a headache as a result. He hardly even noticed. "I-I... I'd love to b-be on a team. With you. Or... with anybody..."

He swallowed, looking down at the field and pressing his fingertips together as he was wont to do when nervous. The he remembered he had a Quirk now and figured he should show his new teammate said Quirk.

"O-oh, and m-my Quirk is..." he blinked, suddenly finding the name a little silly. "Fisher's Line. I-I can make... erm, these..."

He let the strings form, slowly stretching out from his fingers, ethereal threads of blow light running through the air. He moved them in various directions and let them dance and glitter in the sun. He wasn't sure there was a maximum length; he hadn't tested it.

"They're p-pretty much unbreakable, and if anything tries to d-damage them... it d-doesn't usually end well..." he continued. "What about you?"

"Mine's Earphone Jack." Kyoka replied, those flesh-tendrils hanging from her ears moving in a slow circle as she spoke. "These things can stab into most surfaces and turn them into speakers. I can use it to listen to people through walls or project sounds like my heartbeat into the ground to attack villains."

"Oh, wow..." Kensuke swallowed. "That's really c-cool!"

Kyoka nodded, looking around again.

"We need two more people." she said. "Maybe Tokoyami's open to-"

"Kyoka." A voice interrupted the two of them from one side, a voice familiar to Kyoka. "Would you and your new friend here be open to a team up with myself and my associate here?"

Izuku Midoriya was approaching the pair, with a stranger behind him, standing tall and narrow. Izuku had his hands behind his back in his usual straight and dignified posture, while the stranger was slouching slightly, short lengths of spiked brown hair rising from his scalp.

"What's up?" the 'associate' said, casually raising a hand. "Kosei Tsuburaba, Class 1-B. Wanna team up?"

Kensuke swallowed. This Izuku kid... he was the first place winner! He'd just teleported past the whole race and won in what some people were calling a world-record victory, and he wanted to be on a team with... with him? With Kensuke Tororo, former Quirkless nobody, who had only made it this far because of a Quirk he had gotten a few weeks ago?

"I-I..." Kensuke stooped talking, looking at Kyoka, who was shrugging. "Sure!"

Kyoka nodded, before looking at Izuku and narrowing her eyes.

"So... you want us for some plan, right?" she said, voice low. "What's that gonna be about?"

Izuku smiled, and the four huddled together as Izuku laid out the basics for a devilish strategy. Kyoka's visible apprehension turned to an expression of delighted anticipation, while Kensuke found his lack of confidence more than made up for by Izuku's obvious faith in the team he had assembled. Yosei listened and grinned when he heard his part of the plan, shooting the team a grin.

"I've got this covered." he said. "Let's do this."

On the other end of the stadium, Blackmore was gently drumming his fingers against the mask at his hip, hands trembling and making his beat random, staccato and unpleasant to listen to. His master had found a team, which was good. But Blackmore wasn't on that team. Blackmore wasn't working with his master, the only person he really knew in all of Class 1-A, or in all of UA for that matter. The only person he knew outside the school was Inko Midoriya, his master's almost saintly mother.

Without those two, he was lost, alone and most of all, deep down, afraid.

Raymond Blackmore was defective. Broken. Wrong. He knew this, he was sure of it. He was born incorrect, poorly made, a mistake on the part of his mother. He had heard all about it as a child, how he was the worst decision she'd ever made in her life, how his cluelessness and idiocy was a blight on her life. He was quite aware that he was worthless, pointless, nothing... at least, without a guiding hand.

Funny Valentine had found Blackmore after the boy had been kicked out of his home at the age of fourteen. Recently wed, he and his wife Scarlet had been travelling through the state of Pennsylvania on their way to their new home. Stopping in Philadelphia for the night, Funny had found Blackmore in a gutter near their hotel, laying half-dead and frozen stiff. He had carried the boy to the hotel and ordered he be cleaned up and fed at Funny's expense.

Blackmore had become Funny's man that day, dedicated to his master's service. He had learned the ways of a butler, a bodyguard and a servant all at once, how to walk and speak and act with dignity and refinement. He owed everything to Funny, who upon learning of Blackmore's defunct mind had simply laughed and remarked that all men were broken in their own ways.

Blackmore had lived in service to Funny, who had been his saviour, and died for his dream of a greater, stronger America. He had been resurrected at his master's order and sent to aid a new master, Izuku Midoriya, who was so similar to Blackmore it hurt. Master Izuku too was treated as defective, lesser than his peers, but instead of Blackmore's faulty brain, Master Izuku had been born lacking a superhuman ability. Blackmore had resolved to serve his master as best he could in all things.

And now he was without a master to guide him, for the first time since he was fourteen years old. He was afraid, because by himself he was not Blackmore the butler and bodyguard, refined gentleman and protector of great men. He was Blackmore the dysfunctional child, Blackmore the waste, Blackmore the broken one...

Blackmore closed his eyes and swallowed back his fear. He needed to be strong. This was simply a competition. A sport of some sort, one where you refused others control of your flag. Blackmore knew quite a bit about protecting flags, and various other things as well.

He looked around, only to feel a gentle hand on his shoulder. When he turned, he saw green, then white, and then a soft smile.

"Hello Raymond." Ibara Shiozaki said, with that angelic voice. "Would you happen to need a team?"

At her back were two other girls; one a muscular redhead with an equally kind smile on her face, and the third a girl with a bobbed haircut that hid her eyes, smiling shyly. Blackmore blinked, before Ibara offered him a hand to shake.

"I-I would be honoured, Miss Shiozaki." he replied, nodding. "And who, if I may be so bold as to inquire, are your friends?"

"I'm Itsuka Kendo!" the redhead declared, offering Blackmore her hand as well. "And that's Kinoko. She doesn't talk too much, but don't worry, she's super nice!"

Blackmore offered Kinoko a short bow, which made her blush, and made Blackmore feel like even more of a fool. He swallowed and dropped his head. Then Ibara put a hand on his shoulder again, and he felt himself almost unconsciously relax.

"So, now that we have a team, anybody have any plans?" Itsuka asked, smiling. "Kinoko?"

"D-don't let them t-take the flag..." Kinoko mumbled. "I-I could grow... some m-mushrooms to trip them up..."

Blackmore thought for a moment.

"Barring the great fortune of a sudden rainstorm, I am afraid I am going to be of little help." he admitted. "My Sta- apologies, my Quirk, Catch the Rainbow, allows me to freeze water droplets in the air, forming an impenetrable barrier. Anything that attempts to move through them is instead punctured by the droplets. However..."

He cast an eye to the bright, sunny sky overhead, sighing.

"As it is, I am limited to my ability to turn myself into liquid, which does give me a great increase in speed." he said. "So I may be able to keep our flag out of enemy hands. Beyond that however, there is little I can do to turn the battle in our favour."

He looked back down at the girls, who were all staring at him rather openly. He blinked, wondering if he had somehow made a fool of himself again, before Kinoko giggled softly.

"Y-you talk kinda funny..." she said. "Like an old person. It's... it's kinda cool..."

Ah, that. Quite a few people were commenting on his vocabulary and speech patterns today. It was likely because he was nervous. Or outright terrified.

"Hey..." Itsuka said, a finger on her chin. "I think I have an idea..."

The four huddled together, Blackmore slightly uncomfortable with how Itsuka wrapped an arm around his shoulders but not wanting to say anything, before Itsuka laid out a plan. A good plan. A great plan.

A Valentine-worthy plan. Blackmore nodded in respect; that was a high honour for a plan indeed.

"TIME'S UP, CONTESTANTS!" Present Mic declared, voice booming all throughout the stadium again. "EVERYBODY TO THE STAGE FOR YOUR FLAGS AND THE RULES, THEN HEAD FOR YOUR STARTING CIRCLES!"

"Rules are simple!" Midnight explained once everybody was gathered around. "Each team's flag is worth their combined points at the start of the game! The four teams with the most points move on to the next stage of the tournament! Flags can be stolen, and don't worry too much about damaging them; they're made UA tough! Players can attack each other anywhere and at anytime, so keep your heads up and your eyes searching! Each team will be given two minutes to set up defences and finish up on their plans, and then the game begins! Everybody got it?"

A rallied cheer was given in reply, and then the flags were laid out. Izuku eyed theirs; dark green. Fitting, he supposed. It was worth a grand total of one-hundred and five points, most of which were from Kensuke and Kyoka. Their starting circle hardly mattered; he had a much different plan in mind, one that involved scarcely touching the ground if possible.

Blackmore took his teams grey flag and followed them to the circle. Itsuka was rubbing her hands together while Ibara bowed her head. Blackmore did a double take and blinked; she was praying. Curious, he wasn't aware there were any other individuals of religious persuasion at the school. Suddenly her talk she had given him about punishment and guilt made much more sense...

He did not plant their flag, instead rolling his shoulders and holding it tight in his hands. It was his job to keep it safe; theirs was a flag worth a great deal. He had placed second, after all, and due to first place being worth nothing that meant he was worth the most points in the stadium. Ibara had technically come fortieth, worth only five, and the other two had placed around the middle. Their gathered total was well over two-hundred and fifty.

He would protect it with his life. He would prove to his master he was just as capable without a guiding hand... and with luck, maybe he could show Ibara he was worthy of her attention as well.

He missed the smiles Itsuka and Ibara shared behind his back.

The two minutes ticked by. Izuku went back over the plan again, making sure his team all understood their roles. Itsuka did the same. In another ring, Bakugo tried to ignore the annoying purple-haired extra who kept asking him dumb questions. He wasn't born yesterday; no way those two losers with him _weren't _under some kind of Quirk influence. Bakugo had no interest in being a puppet, thank you very much. Shouto Todoroki felt his right side grow colder and colder as he channeled his power and closed his eyes. One shot.

That's how we would win. One shot. No fire. No father's power. Just the gift of his mother's strength and his own ability.

Then Present Mic shouted that two letter word that signalled the beginning of the game.

"GO!"

And then there was ice, and fire, and somewhere far off in a bloodstained alleyway a man clothed in red grinned as his prey entered sight.

**AN: **

**OVER TWO HUNDRED FOLLOWERS!**

**YEAH! YOU GUYS ROCK!**

**Alright, calming down now... **

**Kensuke is indeed using a certain pineapple-boy's Stand, sort of. It's a mix of that and the power of the first MILF Hunter himself, in a way. This is the introduction of a new wave of weird happenings that will give me more characters to play with beyond canon ones. Kirishima can expect some nightmares about being trapped in a river pretty soon...**

**Blackmore's backstory is wholly made up. He doesn't have one beyond 'he works for Funny and apologizes a lot' and despite that he's one of Araki's best minor antagonists, so kudos for that you beautiful Japanese rock-person you. Also I'm really having to fight the urge to give him a harem so maybe I'll make that an omake or AU side-story if anybody thinks it sounds amusing. Let me know!**

**Izuku is gonna kick some ass next chapter, but keep an eye on Bakugou as well. I know he hasn't come up too much, but he is gunning hard for that top spot still, and next chapter should show that a bit.**

**Todoroki angst is still gonna happen maybe. Might not be Izuku who does it, honestly. I'm debating.**

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	14. On a Frozen Field

Ice.

Lots and lots of ice. More ice than anybody knew how to deal with, a sheet of frozen water a foot thick covering the entirety of the stadium ground, leaving every single student trapped.

All, that was, except one.

Shoto Todoroki was no fool. He'd been completely outplayed by Izuku Midoriya in the last event, made to look like an idiot compared to Midoriya's genius first and only attack. The other boy was smart, Shoto could admit it with ease. And a Warp Quirk was nothing to sneeze at; the shadow-man from the USJ incident was proof enough of that. But Shoto had his mother's ice, one of the most powerful Quirks he or the world could think of. Russia's greatest hero, General Winter, was equipped with a similar power, proof enough that Shoto could easily make it with just his right side. He didn't need his left, his father's curse.

He would prove that today, in the Sports Festival, with millions around Japan and the world watching. He would show them all that he was more than his family name and a patch of red hair. That he was the opposite of Enji Todoroki, of Endeavour. He would show them that he was Shoto Todoroki, and he was not his father's son.

He heard cursing, screams. Bakugou, of course, the only hero student willing to be that vulgar in front of a crowd. Todoroki focused his ice as Bakugou blasted free, trapping him within even more of his glacial power. Up to his waist, his wrists trapped as well. Bakugou needed to sweat to make his explosions; if Todoroki froze the sweat and covered the glands, there would be no explosions. He had planned for that.

Bakugou. Yaoyorozu. Iida. Shiozaki. Those were names he had to watch. Each had a reason to be dangerous. He had added Midoriya to the list after his display at the first combat training session. A Warp Quirk.

Todoroki remembered dreams of gunfire, a car chase, blood. Of an impenetrable defence. And of ice, only ice, with no wretched fire to remind him of the bastard he knew as his father. He always remembered the dreams when Midoriya and his Quirk came to mind. He did not know why, and he couldn't have known. Midoriya was troublesome, a twist on the formula. Strange, confident... Todoroki hated that confidence, that this boy who had such a similar Quirk to his own, two unrelated powers that combined to create something so deadly, could be so content.

A sudden impact. Todoroki was knocked forward when something crashed into him from behind, whirling around to see... Blackmore. Midoriya's little pet in the mask. Of course, the liquid form. He would've been able to slip free with ease. Present Mic was shouting, ecstatic that the audience would get to see a one on one fight so early. With that, Todoroki knew the final event immediately.

"Stand and present." Blackmore said, voice low, face hidden behind that mask. His stance dropped, his fingers curling into fists.

Todoroki took a step with his right foot, channeled his ice. He tried to freeze Blackmore in place, surround him in ice. The liquid form would let him escape anything else, and Shoto couldn't let that happen.

Blackmore went up. Catch the Rainbow, such a strange name for a Quirk, cared not for your petty physics. It could go anywhere it pleased. A streak of blue and white and red circled around Todoroki, before reforming into Blackmore. Todoroki ducked a flying kick, sending a wave of spikes after Blackmore. No such luck; as liquid he was faster than Todoroki's channeling. Unacceptable.

Todoroki felt something rumble beneath him. Then he heard cracking sounds. He blinked, looking all around. His ice was spiderwebbing, freaking as something sent pulsing vibrations all through it. Almost like a heartbeat of some kind...

Jiro. He scowled, before twisting all around to find her. No such luck, until he saw Midoriya's head of green hair. She would be there, they were on a team together, and he began channeling his ice again.

Blackmore slammed into his back, knocking him down and sending him sprawling onto his own ice. Shoto grunted, feeling the arctic sheet he'd laid down shift, then crack even more... then there was a ferocious roar as the whole affair splintered and broke apart, and Katsuki Bakugou blasted free of his prison, hurtling skywards with a series of detonations. All around the arena other students were breaking free, climbing atop the broken sheet, slipping and tripping all over.

Shoto was infuriated. Two students far less powerful than him had countered his attack so perfectly, so absolutely that his plan had literally fallen to broke pieces all over the floor. Blackmore streamed away in liquid form, back towards his team who were now pulling themselves free. Bakugou came screaming back to earth, blasting an entire team sprawling before snatching their flag between his teeth and blasting off again.

Izuku sighed and nodded to Tsuburaba, who grinned and took a deep breath. Other teams were struggling to navigate the ice; but his team didn't need to worry about that much at all. Izuku glanced around as Tsuburaba began forming the first of their platforms, curious. He thrust his hand into the broken ice and watched as it popped up over fifty feet away, right beside another team. He hummed, before pulling his hand back and trying again. Perfect. His hand was right beside their flag. He saw one of them, Tsuyu, spot his hand, and he pulled it back. One of her teammates was on his back, Aoyama, it looked like.

Izuku pulled up a large sheet of ice, crawling under it, and then grinned as he let it fall. He triggered D4C and materialized again between Aoyama and the ground, crawling out from under him. He snatched their flag, Tsuyu too busy looking the other way, and wrenched it away back under Aoyama. Tsuyu turned just in time to see him smile and disappear with the flag.

Arriving back, he found Tsuburaba standing some ten feet in the air, having built a series of air platforms like stairs. Tororo was beside him, while Jiro kept looking around, keeping an eye out for opponents bold enough to seek their flag. Overhead, Katsuki was blazing through the sky. Izuku grinned; they would soon be stealing that particular advantage from dear old 'Kaachan'.

"Tsuburaba, are you ready?" Izuku called, as the taller boy continued climbing toward the sky.

"Just about!" he replied, blowing another platform into existence. "Just gimme a minute!"

Izuku heard something moving fast across the ice, constant crunching sounds giving him warning enough to turn and see Tenya Iida hurtling across the field toward them. Izuku dropped his stance and readied himself for his attack. Tenya jumped; one of the flying kicks he'd see during the entry exam, then. Izuku had a counter in mind.

He pulled off his top, again, something he seemed to do a lot of with D4C, and dodged away from Tenya's kick. With luck, the boy was the right size... he slung the jacket toward Tenya, activating D4C. The boy's leg caught the jacket, and was teleported elsewhere in the arena, coming out between the ice between one of the Class 1-B students legs, tripping her up. Tenya, now short a leg, panicked and tried to recover in mid-air, giving Izuku a perfect opening.

"Kensuke!" he shouted, hoping the boy would understand.

A series of glittering threads, five in total, came flying through the air and wrapped around Tenya's arm, leg, and chest. Kensuke gasped with surprise at his own success; he had just caught a hero student with his Quirk! That was incredible! Tenya bucked and twisted, wrenching away his leg from Izuku's jacket and out of the portal, giving him access to the rest of his bodily functions.

Tenya narrowed his eyes as he pulled at the threads surrounding his limbs. Sturdy, quite so. The boy holding them, however... Tenya took in his thin shape, the obvious lack of any muscle tone, and nodded. The throttle on his free leg kicked in and he spun, wrenching Kensuke forward, concluding his spin by kicking the boy in the head.

Kensuke went down like a sack of potatoes, his threads disintegrating. Emitter type, then, not a mutation. Good and bad; it meant he had freed himself. On the downside, the boy could likely create new ones the moment he recovered. Tenya heard Izuku approaching and took a step forward; the boy's attack had confirmed his other major suspicion; Izuku's Quirk, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (another bizarre Quirk name), required the item or person it was warping to be surrounded on at least two sides by other objects. The narrow tunnel at the start of the race, the banner against the wall, the second archway... not to mention that long coat he wore as part of his hero costume.

Tenya knew now how it worked. And he knew how to avoid it.

He twisted, hearing Izuku approach from behind. No... no Izuku. He wasn't behind him, or to the sides... that could only mean he was below! Tenya dodged to the side as a hand came up from below the ice, grasping for his leg, narrowly dodging it before kicking at the arm that followed. It sunk back below the ice, and Tenya nodded. He was underneath, which was where he was most dangerous; he would be able to move his body as he pleased by staying under the ice.

But while under the ice, he couldn't know where Tenya was. So if Tenya kept moving, he would be able to avoid any more attacks. He backstepped again, scanning the ice. So many pieces that could serve as portals for Izuku's hands or feet to emerge from, so much cover... no doubt Todoroki had sought a quick victory. All he had managed was to give Izuku the ideal arena with which to demolish the other teams!

Shoto Todoroki was on the defensive, clearly on the brink of exhaustion. His body quivered in the cold he had made, his right side turning blue at points as his blood-flow grew sluggish. He ached bone deep in the chill radiating from his right arm and leg, the feeling one got when they had been out in the snow for far too long. He fought through the pain, however. He was not his father. He was Shoto Todoroki. He would never give up.

Midoriya and Tenya's duel caught his eye. A curious fight, almost comedic from the third person, but he was certain Tenya didn't regard it as such. No matter; those two were class powerhouses. If they were busy with each other, that would give Shoto the time he needed to retake the initiative and push his team to the top. Yaoyorozu was watching their flag along with Sero Hanta and Shoji Mezo. They had agreed Shoto was the best choice for the attacker, with the power of his Quirk and the mobility it gave him.

But his opening gambit had failed in doing anything other than create difficult terrain and give him less than ten seconds of a head start. He was already weary from fending off Blackmore and several other students eager to take down one of Class 1-A's most powerful students before he could threaten their chances. Shoto's expression twisted into an angry scowl, before he channeled his ice again. If he couldn't eliminate them all, best to start with the two biggest problems he could handle.

Tenya backstepped another of Izuku's grasping hands, before he felt a chill around his ankles. He looked down to see ice creeping up over his feet, slowly crawling up his legs. He tried to kick it away, but it had already grown thick and strong.

Izuku grabbed at his leg again, not knowing the danger. His hand was soon being consumed as well, swallowed up by the growing ice. He tried to pull away too late, and after a moment the rest of his body emerged from under the ice, crawling out awkwardly. He looked up at Tenya, who was still struggling. Crap. Nothing to be done about it then… he'd have to use his other main trick already.

"Tenya, when I say go, you need to kick backwards away from me as hard as you can, okay?" he said, meeting the taller boy's eyes. "Use your Quirk or just your muscles, but I can't get us out of this without your help."

Tenya looked at him for a long moment, before nodding. The ice was approaching his knees, its chilling touch extending. Izuku closed his eyes and concentrated. His hand was surrounded by ice; it was between surfaces. That meant he could warp it. He had to ignore the sensation of his hand being restrained and focus on the power of D4C. The power to move between realities. He felt the ethereal touch of the Stand form around him, and took a deep breath.

"Go." he said, as his hand disappeared from his body up to the wrist.

Tenya kicked away, the sudden pocket of empty space in the ice giving him a weakness to exploit. The ice broke, allowing him to dodge backwards and giving Izuku a moment to pull his hand back. His hand quivered from the cold, but he stuffed his fingers in his mouth to warm them and looked up at Tenya, who was himself looking to Todoroki. He didn't even spare Izuku a second glance, rushing away toward their heterochromatic classmate with the engines in his calves flaring with power.

Izuku took a step back, letting himself breathe. Those two would tie each other up for a time, hopefully. He took a look skyward and grinned. Tsuburaba had finished their primary plan, and not a moment too soon. He scooped up Kensuke, who was still unconscious on the ice. No man left behind, a theory Valentine did not contest but did disapprove of. But Izuku was going to be a hero. Heroes didn't leave people behind. No matter what.

Izuku dropped on top of Kensuke, letting him materialize between two of the air platforms Tsuburaba had created, right where Izuku had instructed him to build them. A narrow corridor leading to a large flat platform, one capable of suspending their whole team. Their own personal airbase, one Izuku could defend from any angle due to the many invisible walls Tsuburaba had constructed out of his Quirk surrounding it.

Izuku reappeared next to Kensuke after sandwiching himself between the ice and the ground again, sitting up immediately. Kyoka seemed surprised to see him, but he waved her off and nodded to Kensuke. She began dragging him toward their central platform. Izuku took a long look at the field below them, quickly distracted by the sight of Katsuki's meteoric ascent toward them. Izuku waited, glancing to Tsuburaba, who nodded.

Izuku pointed a finger at the invisible corridor Katsuki had entered, one of many Tsuburaba had built, and grinned as D4C appeared. There was a satisfying moment where Katsuki's eyes widened before he disappeared from sight, rematerializing under the ice and cursing as he blasted his way free. Izuku took that as an opportunity to dash between two of the invisible walls himself, materializing right underneath another prone form. He pulled himself free from under them, muttering an apology, before freezing.

Tsuyu Asui was laying on the ice, and when he had touched her to move her, she had been deathly cold to the touch. Izuku swallowed.

Amphibian mutation. Cold blooded. A field covered in ice. His eyes went wide. She was in danger. Severe danger. He pulled off his jacket again, throwing it over her and warping away, back up to the sky platform. Tsuburaba seemed surpriside to see him, and Izuku beckoned him to approach.

"Her Quirk is an amphibian type mutation." Izuku said. "She's cold blooded, and it's like a deep freezer down there. Not a problem for most of us… but she's in danger. I need you to hold down the fort while I take her to the nurse's station."

Tsuburaba stared at him for a long moment, before nodding.

"I've got it." he said. "Besides, nobody seems too eager to come at us up here besides that explosion guy. But if he hits this main platform with one of those explosions… we're all going down."

"Don't worry about Katsuki." Izuku said, shaking his head. "He doesn't care about you or the others. He only wants me. I'll be back soon."

The bright side of possessing a Warp Quirk was that nobody really questioned it if you spontaneously disappeared. It was part of your Quirk, part of your power you were supposedly born with. So when Izuku disappeared, nobody noticed him go. And even when he took Tsuyu with him… she had been a mid-placer in the race. Nobody noticed her go either, besides a few curious eyes.

But when Izuku materialized in the announcer's booth, the only place he could think of where he could both see it, knew people within it and knew it was likely warm, he didn't account for the fact that Shotaka Aizawa would be present as well. He hadn't heard a single one of her quiet interjections over the speakers, too focused first on disrupting the race and later capturing flags and not getting turned into a Midoriya-cicle. She turned to see him immediately, feeling the same strange sense of premonition she always felt when Midoriya was near. They were linked by D4C, he had explained; he always knew where she was now. That would have been creepy, but Midoriya had said it with a tone of shame that dually relieved and worried her.

"Midoriya, why do you have Asui with you?" she asked voice low to avoid distracting Mic, who was busy screaming his head off as another student did something ridiculous to capture a flag. "What's going on?"

"The field is covered in ice and Tsuyu is cold-blooded." Izuku said in way of a quick explanation in as few words as he could manage. "I needed to take her somewhere warm and this was the only place I could see that I could also warp to."

Shotaka nodded, reaching out and touching a hand to the frog-girl's head. She was very cold, that much was true, and when she felt for a pulse she nearly panicked until she felt a single sluggish beat. Then another. Then another. She had clearly entered some kind of dormant state, a hibernation of a sort. Shotaka took a deep breath, steadying her own heart-rate, then nodded to Midoriya.

"We need to get her to the nurse's station." she said, picking up the girl in her arms and holding her close so her own body heat could help warm her. "Get back in the arena, Midoriya. I'll take care of this from here."

When she looked back at Midoriya, she almost recoiled. The boy was glaring at her, a look of conviction severe enough to give her pause. It was a fearsome look, one that said 'pray you do not fail'. Shotaka felt that strange premonition sense again, and swallowed. It was like a pressure, an aura of menace.

"Take care of her." he said, voice suddenly low, before he shook his head and smiled. The menacing aura "I-I mean… please take care of her. I don't want her to miss out on the rest of the Festival."

He stepped between two of the concrete support pillars in the walls, disappearing from sight, and Shotaka swallowed. What was that? Why had she felt so… afraid? She looked down at Asui again and nodded. No time to worry about that little display. She had to get Asui to the nurse. The frog girl was shivering, giving Shotaka a reason to hurry.

Izuku stepped back into the battlefield and sighed. Aizawa could take care of Tsuyu. His team still possessed three different flags, and when he checked the scoreboard he noted that they were pulling into the lead. Second place, after Todoroki's team. Good…

'_But not great.' _Funny Valentine said, and Izuku nodded in agreement.

"Let's show them great." he replied, before diving forward off the platform, phasing between two of Tsuburaba's platforms and materializing right between two competing students, locked in a brawl. He took a step back from the stunned pair and grabbed the backs of their hands in his hands, bringing their faces together in a double-headbutt that saw both of them fall. A nearby explosion rocked him on his feet, and he grinned before turning. Katsuki, blasting away at Blackmore's team trying to get his hands on their flag.

A redheaded girl with enormous hands was blocking the impacts, but it looked like she couldn't hold up much longer on the onslaught. Izuku charged forward and reached out, the sheer amount of noise Katsuki's own attack was making disguising his approach well. He grabbed Katsuki's collar, wrenching him backwards and throwing him down onto the ice. There was a shout of anger, and a wayward explosion caught Izuku's right arm, but he successfully dropped his old bully to the ground, before grinning and dropping on top of Katsuki himself.

There. Now he was somewhere under the ice, no doubt further enraged, and refocused on Izuku. Exactly what he wanted. Izuku nodded to the redhead, who waved at him with a confused expression, before diving back under the ice and disappearing again. He had one more flag in mind, a perfect addition to his impending collection, and he reached out for it. Tenya was gone, still battling Todoroki in the centre of the field. The timer was running low, and so the other teammates were gone. All that remained was a single girl with cold blue eyes and jet black hair.

Izuku grabbed the flag and dragged it under the ice, grinning as he did so. One last flag, worth some two hundred points. Perfect for bringing them to the top. He appeared again on the sky platform, noting that Katsuki was still searching for him on the ground level, and dropped the flag on their small platform. Kensuke was back on his feet, rubbing the large bruise on his temple and looking quite sheepish, while Kyoka stood nearby with her jacks plugged into two of the invisible walls.

Izuku looked at the scoreboard. His team jumped up to first right after he dropped the flag onto the pile, and he smiled at the sight, hearing Tsuburaba cheer.

A moment after, Present Mic loudly declared the game over.

Izuku took a long breath and sat down beside their flags.

'_The day is once again yours.' _Funny said.

"I couldn't have done it without those three." Izuku replied, shaking his head. "The day is ours."

He said the last line louder, so his team could hear it. Kyoka smiled, a rare sight, and Kensuke looked once again flabbergasted. Tsuburaba just cheered again, throwing his hands in the air as Present Mic declared their team as the first place victors. Izuku accepted an offered hand from Tsuburaba, who pulled him to his feet and clapped him on the shoulder.

"That was awesome!" he declared, grinning. "You guys are hardcore! If you ever wanna team up like this again, let me know!"

"I will." Izuku replied, nodding. "For now though… let's just take a break. I'm exhausted."

Tsuburaba voiced his agreement, and Izuku saw Kensuke nod out of the corner of his eye. Kyoka approached as well, and Izuku smiled.

"Alright, let's get everybody out of here." he said, removing his jacket again. "I'll make you all show up near the exit tunnel, okay? Just don't try to move while I'm moving you, or you'll end up falling over."

"Speaking from experience?" Kyoka asked, smirking.

"Why do you think I warp laying down so much?" Izuku replied.

**AN:**

**And that's a wrap for event two! Nothing from the outside world this time; I wanted to give the second event an entire chapter to itself before we went back to the wider world. Don't worry about the Best Boys; they're handling things. Mostly. Eri's helping.**

**Izuku hasn't even had to break any limbs yet, fortunately. Don't worry, sadists in the audience; there's plenty of finger-snapping coming for the Todoroki fight that I've decided is almost definitely happening now. **

**Kensuke was mostly a non-presence. This wasn't originally my intention, but this chapter ended having a lot more Iida than I anticipated. Probably a good thing considering the next major arc is kind of a big deal for him. Kensuke will probably stick around, however; I've got an awesome fight in mind for him.**

**Next chapter; Ibara and Izuku finally confront one another. This is something I've been hyped to write since Chapter Eight, and now here's my chance!**

**Thanks once again to my most dedicated reviewers; you guys are a serious help, and you know who you are. **

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	15. Dissonance and Disdain

Blackmore sat at a table, not alone. He held a cup of water in his hand, which he toyed with by tossing droplets in the air and then passing his hands through, to amuse his teammates. All three thought his 'Quirk' was quite interesting, especially after Itsuka pricked her finger on a raindrop despite his earnings and noted that it was incredibly sharp. She then threw an arm over his shoulder and laughed.

"I still can't believe we made it to third!"

Blackmore was beginning to grow more comfortable around his team. Itsuka's hands-on approach to communication and sisterly attitude, Kinoko's shy demeanour and hidden face, and of course he had already been well aware of Ibara's gentle, kind... everything. He didn't have words sufficient to describe her in his own mind, a rare problem for one with a vocabulary as broad and baroque as his own. The fact remained; the three girls were a delight to be around.

They didn't see him as broken, worthless Blackmore; they genuinely believed him to be a worthy addition to their group, and considered his assistance in battle to be of great help. He was half the reason the game had even continued, they had said, he and that Kyoka girl who had once questioned him about his name in the past. Now she seemed all too happy to sit by the side of his master, discussing the upcoming competition.

Blackmore watched them, and was satisfied. He could see the girl's presence made his master happy, set him to smiling and turning a little red in the cheeks. Blackmore enjoyed it; Master Izuku deserved to be happy, the same way Master Valentine before him had deserved happiness. And both needed to be successful for the greater good of the world.

Ibara Shiozaki watched from across the table as Blackmore watched his master, and smiled wistfully to herself. So this Midoriya was his master, then, the one he was so insistent on being perfect for. She considered her fellow green-haired hero in training for a moment. He was smiling at something one of his teammates had said, nodding in agreement with whatever they had suggested or declared, before replying and citing a new wave of laughter from two of his three teammates. The girl with the purple hair just smiled.

Izuku Midoriya. Ibara didn't know him all that well; he was apparently something of a class star, a hero among heroes as it were. She could certainly see it; he was decisive, bold and quite obviously courageous. His various displays of combat prowess during the prior event proved all of these beyond the shadow of a doubt. But was he heroic? Was he kind and good-hearted, did he care for the innocent? She could not say. Perhaps he did, or perhaps he simply sought personal glory. His power was perfect for achieving either goal, indisputably.

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap. Not exactly a heroic name for a power, but then again it didn't need to be. The number two hero in Japan used the power of Hellflame, after all. Names were meaningless; it was actions that mattered. Especially to Ibara Shiozaki, who was of the mind that works were just as important as faith in the greater game of morality. If a good hearted man did cruel things to his fellow man, he was not a good hearted man. He was confused at best, or a liar, or at the worst a hypocrite who truly believed his evil to be the path to a greater good. Ibara had met many men who laid claim to goodness but acted only in self-interest. She could not be certain Midoriya Izuku was not one of these men.

So she watched, and waited, hoping in part she would find herself across from Midoriya in the upcoming final event. Present Mic's declaration earlier had not been forgotten by any of the sixteen students present; the final event would almost certainly be a trial of single combat in the form of a bracketed tournament. Already several students were readying themselves for the coming battles, stretching or eating to ready their bodies.

She watched as Midoriya rose with a smile, slipping away from his table and following the departing form of one Shoto Todoroki, who was himself leaving after taking a phone call on his cell. Curious. Both of them were dangerous prospective combattants; if they were meeting, was it to exchange information? Ideas?

Ibara was not concerned; her personal combat ability with her Quirk was more potent than most, and she had a further advantage on open ground with how her vines could move below the earth. She could think of some three students that would be troublesome; the explosive blonde and the Izuku from 1-A, and from her own class she considered Kinoko the only true danger. Her Quirk's fungal offspring could overtake Ibara's vines, stifling their growth and killing them off by eating them alive. It was the hardest of hard counters...

But Kinoko lacked confidence. She was not the only one who knew this; Blackmore too had realized this truth about his most furtive teammate. She lacked the quiet grace of Ibara, the energetic readiness of Itsuka, or even the brash self-assuredness of someone like Bakugou. Her self-doubt was obvious. He had little to fear from her Quirk; his liquid form would easily allow him to avoid any spores, and close the gap just about instantly. It was the more physical, flexible Quirks like Itsuka's hands or Ibara's vines he was concerned with. They would be far harder to consistently dodge, especially Itsuka's hands.

He had to wonder how having giant hands wasn't more tiring. He couldn't imagine such an outlandish thing in his own world, but the girl did well with them regardless of their bizarre nature.

He sighed softly, letting the rest of the water fall back into the cup and drinking it down. He would need to stock up on fluids for the challenge facing him; already he felt dehydrated from his prior battle with Todoroki and the challenges presented by the second event. Fifteen other students to challenge; four fights to the top, if his math was correct, one of which could potentially place him against his master. A challenging prospect to say the least, but Blackmore would not forfeit for Master Midoriya's sake. Master Valentine demanded only the best from his servants in all things, especially in exercises and training.

Blackmore would fight with all he had, every drop of strength within him. And he would, by grace of God and by his own strength, win. This he swore to himself, head bowed, before reaching down and taking his mask in his hand.

"Raymond." Ibara said, and he paused in his motion to look at her. "Don't wear it. Let the world and your enemies see your face."

Blackmore held the mask in a tense grip, turning his hand so he could look at its face. It stared back at him, empty eyeholes giving him a means to look at the table. It's blank face gave him no solace... but it did give him cover. With his mask on his face he was not Raymond Blackmore, useless worthless broken child. He was Blackmore, servant of President Funny Valentine and Izuku Midoriya, future hero. He was strong and brave and everything he needed to be for the task ahead.

He swallowed, and then stood from his bench.

"Thank you for all your aid in this past challenge." he said, bowing deeply to his team as he addressed them. "I look forward to facing you all upon the field of battle, and hope to one day stand beside you again. For now, however, I bid you farewell."

He refused to meet Ibara's eyes as he put the mask to his face, letting it adhere with that strange ethereal touch. He turned and walked away, toward his master.

It was time for his little vacation to end.

In a silent room occupied by none but himself, Tenya Iida placed his smart phone face down on the table in front of him with a quiet clack of glass meeting wood. He made not a single sound, nor did he break the blank, cold expression on his face with any emotional reaction. His hands came to his sides, and without his willing it they curled into tensed fists, trembling with pent up rage. Or was it grief? Perhaps fear? Tears pricked at his eyes and a lump formed in his throat.

He did not know.

In a quiet corridor that had just moments ago been far louder, Shoto Todoroki's hands were shaking as well, clenched not in fists but with his fingers curled as claws, each side of his body running rampant with its respective climatological phenomenon. His right side was slowly covering over in hoarfrost, while his left gained a healthy flush as it heated up beyond normal human ability. Shoto's eyes narrowed as he looked to the ceiling for a moment, then back to where he could see Izuku peering into the tunnel.

Wordlessly he turned and stomped after his father, back into the arena.

Izuku watched Todoroki go, hands clasped behind his back. He had just heard quite the argument, one between the unstoppable force that was Endeavour and his pride, and the immovable object that was Shoto's hatred for his fire. With that context given, Shoto seemed to suddenly click in place in Izuku's mind; everything made sense. Shoto was choosing not to use his own fire.

Izuku's mind cycled back a few weeks. The sight of his classmates after the USJ incident; traumatized, terrified, weary and hurt. Tooru's invisible form getting wheeled away in a cart, the first Aizawa's mangled form and the second's obvious discomfort with moving between dimensions. He thought of the twenty-odd versions of himself who had literally broken themselves to keep that vast Noumu monster down, holding the line until All Might could arrive.

He thought of these things and felt a spark of anger within him. The whole class was giving it their all; Bakugou and Yaoyorozu and Asui and Jiro, Kaminari and Hakagure and Kirishima and Uraraka and all the rest were fighting their hardest to become heroes. He himself had nearly died multiple times at the USJ, saved only by D4C and One For All's combined power.

And Todoroki just coasted on by with half. Half the power he had been born with. Half the power he had been gifted at birth. Half the power Izuku had been bullied and mocked and made into a pariah for lacking. Half the power he could have used to help at the USJ, to save people. Half the power he could use to save lives and become one of the greatest heroes in the world.

Half the power.

Half.

As if that would be enough.

Izuku stepped into a wall alcove and away into another world, where he observed the same argument again. He was watching again too, observing, another version of himself, smaller and meeker, hiding in the alcove opposite. The same argument. The same words.

The same excuses.

Izuku faded back into his reality. Then he stepped into another. And another. And another. Each time he grew more and more angry. Had this been a single time fluke, a one-universe gimmick, he might have found it acceptable. But every universe he peered into, regardless of its changes, Todoroki still insisted on deliberately handicapping himself. On choosing weakness. On being less just to spite his bastard of a father.

Izuku returned to his reality and stepped into the open of the tunnel, following after Todoroki. He didn't need to go far; the boy emerged from behind a blind corner, grabbing at Izuku's shoulders and pressing him against a wall. He hit the cement with a dull thud, grunting slightly before looking at Todoroki.

Their faces were only a few inches apart. Todoroki had an intensity in his mismatched eyes, a cold anger mixed with determination. He was upset at being spied on. Izuku could respect that. But that was all there was to respect. Todoroki opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't." Izuku interrupted, spitting the word as he would a curse, reaching up with one hand and grabbing Todoroki's right wrist. "Don't you dare try to justify this to me."

Todoroki snarled, pulling Izuku forward before slamming him into the wall again. Izuku was rattled for a moment, before he blinked and slapped the boy's hands off his shoulders with his own hands, pressing a foot against his gut and pushing him back. Todoroki grunted as he was knocked away.

"Don't sell me the sob story." Izuku continued, refusing to let Todoroki get a word in edgewise. "Don't tell me about your father's abuse and your mother's torment. Don't tell me about her mistake and his anger and your sorrow. Don't rant about guilt and cause and effect and the feeling of weakness because you know NOTHING of weakness."

Izuku took a step forward, pressing a finger against Todoroki's chest hard enough to rock the heterochromatic boy on his feet.

"Don't speak, don't excuse, don't lie or twist words." Izuku's voice was an angry hiss, a tone none had ever heard from the boy before. "Don't play the martyr and claim its for honour or pride that you handicap and weaken yourself. And don't you DARE proclaim the fire to be your father's power when you know logically AND emotionally it very well is NOT."

Todoroki lashed out with a silent punch and Izuku took it on the jaw, letting his head turn. He didn't move his hand though, that lone finger pressing its accusatory touch against the other boy's ribs. He twisted his head back to meet Todoroki's eyes again, staring him down. His eyes flashed with the purple light of Funny's Stand, and both heard in their minds the ghostly echoes of gunshots and enraged howls.

"I will not stand idly by while you commit your self-righteous suicide and drag this class down with you." Izuku said. "I will take you by the hand and drag you back above the waves and into the light, and you will accept my help or die on your own, choking on that poison pride you drink so deeply of. And should you yet choose to fall into nothingness and forsake both your mother and yourself for spite of your father's dream, I will watch and weep for the hero you could have been."

He brought up the rest of his fingers, an open hand on a stunned Todoroki's chest, and pressed him back into the opposite wall, a captive audience in every sense of the word.

"Choose your path, Shoto Todoroki." Izuku said, Funny's voice bleeding into his and making a resonant command of his words. "Will you fall? Or will you stand, tall and proud, the hero this world... no, the hero your mother deserves?"

Izuku stepped back and away, hand coming down, before turning to march down the tunnel, leaving a stunned Todoroki behind, staring at a wall with nothing to say.

"I await your answer on the battlefield."

Izuku left him with those words.

**AN:**

**Izuku-Valentine has no chill, I know. **

**Speaking of chill, next chapter has a lot of it. Literally, not metaphorically; it's the icy-boy's refrain, and if you thought things got heated this chapter buddy guy, just you wait. **

**Blackmore still has problems. He's working on them. **

**Ibara might not hate Izuku? She's still thinking about it. She's also still a monstrously underused character in MHA and that makes me upset. Just... trade grapes for the vine, Horikoshi my guy. Please? **

**Next chapter(s): Izuku and Todoroki take their debate to the arena, Blackmore dunks on someone who probably deserves it, Kensuke tries to teach someone his name and Ibara gives the audience an educational lesson in the sturdiness of plant matter.**


	16. Nothing is Static

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME BACK TO THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!" Present Mic's voice boomed from every speaker inside the stadium and without, echoing all throughout Japan and the greater world as millions tuned in for the final event. "I'M YOUR HOST, PRESENT MIC, AND I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR ONE DOOZY OF A SHOW! FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF THE FIRST YEARS' FESTIVAL, WE HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOU ALL!"

"Single combat," were the words on every pair of lips watching. It always ended in a bracketed single combat tournament, something to really raise the stakes and get the blood pumping. It was traditional as any holiday celebration or religious ritual, as regular as clockwork. The UA Sports Festival always concluded with sixteen students beating the absolute tar out of each other two at a time to prove their strength, courage, cunning and mettle.

Down in the arena, the sixteen assembled students were standing before a vast cement platform assembled purely for this purpose; a stage for them to perform on in some of their eyes. Others saw it is as an arena in which they could show the world their true power. And some instead saw a place of inevitable defeat.

Izuku Midoriya ran his fingers through his hair, eyes still narrowed. His anger at Todoroki lingered in his expression, though he didn't direct it at any of his classmates. He simply let an aura of determination fill the air around him, D4C enveloping him in its form and making it clear to all who observed that he was ready for the final trial.

Katsuki Bakugou's hands were steadily exploding, tiny firecracker pops as he warmed up his sweat glands in his palms in preparation for the coming fights. He would need to be at the top of his game to remind these extras and that heel Deku who was the top dog in this race. His pride could take no more lashes; he had been driven to the edge. It was time to push back.

Shoto Todoroki stared blankly at the arena, only half-aware of what Present Mic was saying. All he could focus on were Izuku's words, those declarations of disdain and those commands that he become better. It had shaken him to his core to be called out like that. He stared at his hands, left and right, cursed and blessed. What was he to do?

Kensuke Tororo was exactly one more surprise away from entering full-scale panic mode, hands quivering in his lap as Present Mic paused for dramatic effect. One on one combat? With a Quirk he had possessed for a grand total of five weeks? Against seasoned hero students who had already battled real villains and won? He was terrified. He was panicking. He was not ready.

Ibara Shiozaki let her head fall and her eyes close, slipping into prayer. Prayer for herself, for strength and courage to weather the coming storm. Prayer for her enemies, that they might find righteous victory if it was theirs and honourable defeat if it was not. Prayer for the audience, that this display might give them faith in the heroes they relied on.

Raymond Blackmore sat in expectant silence, mask on his face. He would fight his hardest, and either win or lose trying. If he lost, he would punish himself. If he won, he would rejoice and return to his master's side. Such was his place, and so were his goals. He did not even consider that perhaps he was wrong, that there was something more yet coming.

None of them did.

They should have.

"IT'S TIME FOR THE TAG-TEAM TOURNAMENT!" Present Mic declared, grinning like a madman as he subverted expectations worldwide, laying down the revised script handed to him ten minutes ago by Principal Nezu himself. "HEROISM IS ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK! COOPERATION! AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR OUR LITTLE LISTENERS DOWN THERE TO SHOW THE WORLD THE KINDS OF HEROES THEY'RE GONNA BE!"

Mic sat back in his chair as waves of shock and confusion rippled through the crowd. He loved this, truly he did; it was always great to see people dazzled by your declarations and dialogue. It was what he lived for! Already heroes who had been in UA themselves less than a decade ago were looking to one another, befuddled by the revelation. Tag-team? As in, two on two? Unthinkable?

The students were equally lost. Izuku touched a hand to his head, a 'good grief' escaping his lips before he heard a loud detonation from nearby. His eyes tracked up and sure enough he saw Bakugou literally blowing off some steam, a scowl on his face as he glared up toward the announcer's booth. Surely the thought of having to cooperate with an 'extra' was utterly offensive to him. Izuku smiled. At least some things never changed.

"You heard the man!" Midnight declared, snapping her riding crop to punctuate her sentence. "But this time, you won't be forming your own teams! Heroes often have to cooperate with strangers in a crisis; you're going to experience something similar! We've randomly selected eight teams, and you're gonna stick with 'em!"

Her crop cracked again, and she glared down at the assembled students with narrowed eyes.

"Or else..." she finished, leaving half the contestants afraid and the other half cowed. Even Katsuki stopped setting off explosions.

She pulled a sheet of paper out from her belt, narrowing her eyes and reading it aloud for the students. Each matchup was... interesting.

"Kensuke Tororo and Shoto Todoroki; Team A!" she declared, giving Izuku quite the start.

Kensuke audibly squeaked in terror, looking at the brooding form of 1-A's second, maybe third-biggest powerhouse with fear in his eyes. That was his partner? He would have to keep up with the kid who could do THAT? Todoroki ignored him, arms crossed as he stared into the middle distance.

"Katsuki Bakugou and Kinoko Komori; Team B!"

"WHO?" Katsuki's question echoed through the arena. He had been expecting four-eyes or Deku or even Round Face, not... whoever the fuck Kinoko Komori was! At least with those three they might have made decent sidekicks, watching his back. But some extra he didn't even know? More explosions popped from his hands as he looked around.

When he saw the small, demure form that approached him, eyes hidden behind the bob of her hair and head bowed, he audibly groaned and rolled his eyes. This was a bad joke. She stammered out a greeting and he grunted back, nodding. Whatever. Extra or not, at least she wouldn't get herself hurt by getting in the way. That would blow.

"Momo Yaoyorozu and Shinso Hitoshi; Team C!"

Momo swallowed, glancing to her right to see the boy with shaggy purple hair. She knew nothing about him, other than his challenge to 1-A a few days before the Sports Festival. It worried her that he was her partner. But she would have to work with it. Heroes were adaptable, after all.

"Eijiro Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsu... tetsu... uh, Team D!"

"YEAH!" Kirishima punched the air, his cry synching up with another student doing the exact same thing. Their eyes met, and went wide.

Izuku smiled. There was a match made in heaven.

Somewhere in Japan, a very confused man sneezed.

"Sero Hanta and Itsuka Kendo, Team E!"

Sero was startled when a finger immediately tapped his shoulder, making him twist around to see a muscular red headed girl giving her a grin and thumbs up. He responded in kind, smiling a toothy smile. Izuku wasn't certain Sero knew quite what was happening.

"Raymond Blackmore and Kosei Tsuburaba; Team F!"

Blackmore let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, hands behind his back and eyes closed. A stranger, in part, but a stranger who had aided his master. In that they shared commonality, and in commonality they could perhaps find unity. A better position than most found themselves in; fuming Bakugou, staring at his partner, and doubtful Yaoyorozu, unable to look away from her own assigned teammate.

"Izuku Midoriya and Ibara Shiozaki; Team G!"

Izuku took a deep breath, before a smile formed on his lips. Shiozaki. Yes, the officials would organize something like that. The whole audience had seen their earlier argument; there was little doubt for any paying attention that there was tension between the two. Izuku released that breath and looked to his fellow green-haired student, who was looking at him curiously. Slowly, he raised a hand in greeting.

"Finally, Mezo Shoji and Kyoka Jiro; Team H!"

The first team made of actual classmates. No doubt some official somewhere was disappointed there weren't more students from 1-B, but the sporadic collective Shinso had assembled had consisted of himself, Kirishima, Tetsutetsu and Bakugou, the last of whom had correctly predicted his Quirk had something to do with mind control. Shoji and Jiro approached each other, the former bowing and the latter nodding.

Izuku smiled again. They would be fine.

"You have ten minutes until the first match begins!" Midnight said, cracking her riding crop again to get the attentions of the newly formed teams. "Team A and Team B will be the first round; winner moves up in the bracket. Losers... well, you'll see."

She smiled flirtatiously as she said so, bending down slightly and giving several of the male students pause before giggling and walking away. The groups were dismissed, and the chaos began.

"So what the fuck do you even do?" Katsuki asked, looking at his new partner with a frown. "Mumble at people or some shit?"

"M-m-mush you be so m-mean...?" Kinoko stammered. "I-I m-make m-mush-mushrooms..."

"Just my fuckin' luck." Katsuki swore, rolling his eyes. "Deku 2, with tits."

"W-what?" Kinoko asked.

Some distance away, Kensuke was trying and failing to get his partner's attention.

"So... we're on a team, huh?" he said, voice soft. "I-I... you're pretty strong. You have any ideas? Or strategies or, y'know... hello?"

Todoroki said nothing, staring at his right hand surrounded by a corona of mist in the warm midday sun. Kensuke gulped. Great. He was so far below this guy he didn't even care to pay attention to him! What the heck was he supposed to do now?

"Midoriya." Todoroki said suddenly, clenching his fist. "Our plan is to defeat Midoriya."

Kensuke blinked.

"Um... he's at the other end of the bracket." he said. "That's the other side of... well, we'd have to reach the finals, t-to fight him... you think we can get that far."

"With just my ice, I will defeat him." Todoroki said, scowling. "And I will show him he is wrong."

"I feel like I'm missing something here." Kensuke said.

Ibara Shiozaki and Izuku Midoriya stared each other down. Izuku's hands were clasped behind his back again, while Ibara held hers in front. Suddenly, after a tense moment of silence, Izuku stifled a laugh with one hand. Ibara raised an eyebrow.

"Is something amusing you?" she asked.

"Just the voices in my head." Izuku replied, bowing. "Izuku Midoriya, Class 1-A President and Representative. Bearer of the Quirk Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, also known as Filthy Acts Performed at a Reasonable Price outside of Japan."

Ibara blinked.

"Ibara Shiozaki." she replied. "I understand we have our differences, Midoriya, but it would please me if we could work together."

Izuku extended a hand, and she took it.

"Very well." Izuku grinned. "Let's go win a tournament."

Blackmore watched this and smiled, before his partner coughed.

"The plan?" Kosei Tsuburaba asked.

"Do not lose." Blackmore replied, before turning away.

Truly, it was a day of great strategic enlightenment for all involved.

Soon the ten minutes ended, and Midnight called for Teams A and B to assemble atop the large elevated cement square that would be their arena for the match. Katsuki stood with tiny explosions popping in his palms, while Todoroki stared him down. Their partners both looked more afraid of their teammates than the enemy, Kensuke fiddling with the strings of his Quirk while Kinoko swayed back and forth slowly, humming a song to keep her nerves in check.

"FOR OUR FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT ONE HELL OF A POWER PLAY!" Present Mic declared to the world. "TEAM A'S KATSUKI BAKUGOU MADE A BOLD DECLARATION AT THE START OF THE FESTIVAL, LISTENERS, BUT CAN HE FULFILL HIS VOW? HIS TEAMMATE, KINOKO KOMORI, MEANWHILE, HAS STAYED TO THE SIDELINES AND BACKGROUND SO FAR! IS THIS HER TIME TO SHINE?"

Katsuki growled, a larger blast filling one hand.

"TEAM B SEES SHOTO TODOROKI, ONE OF CLASS 1-A'S TOP STUDENTS, TEAMING UP WITH A RECORD SETTER; BUSINESS CLASS STUDENT KENSUKE TORORO, WHO IS THE FIRST FROM HIS CLASS TO MAKE IT THIS FAR!"

Kensuke heard Bakugou laugh, a bark of amusement, and he felt a strange prickling in his chest. Was this... anger? Indignity? He clenched his fists. Who was Bakugou to laugh? Kensuke had fought hard to get this far.

"Just give up now!" Bakugou shouted across. "You can't take me alone, Icy-Hot, what makes you think a nobody like him can help you?"

Nobody? Kensuke swallowed.

"Let's have a good match." he said, earning a rapid nod from Kinoko and a laugh from Bakugou.

"Know your place, extra!" Bakugou spat on the cement, glaring at Kensuke. "This is a fight between that Half-and-Half Bastard and I! You're just a footnote!"

Present Mic began the countdown, and Bakugou's stance dropped, his hands back and explosions building in his palms. Todoroki took a single step with his right foot, a mist forming around his rapidly cooling right side. Kensuke swallowed again, that strange sensation building. His hands clenched into claw-like shapes, strings slowly falling from his fingertips.

"Let's go, Icy-Hot!" Bakugou roared. Todoroki just glared.

"FIGHT!" Present Mic shouted.

"DIE!" Bakugou blitzed forward, raising a hand filled with nitroglycerin and sparking it.

Right before the blast could blow away his opposition, however, he felt something wrap around his forearm and pull it away. The blast went wide, nearly hitting his partner, who ducked away and yelped with fear. Bakugou swore, wrenching his arm back, but it didn't obey his pull at first, something holding it in place.

He looked, and saw glittering blue threads of light leading back to Kensuke's fingertips, holding him back. The boy's eyes were narrowed and his jaw clenched, arms straining with the effort of holding back Bakugou's strength with his own. But there was a glint of something hard in his eyes, something... strong.

"Fuck off, extra!" Bakugou swore, blasting the strings with an explosion.

When the force rebounded and blew him backwards to the edge of the ring, he realized his mistake. Kensuke sent another set of strings after him, wrapping three around his other arm and two around one leg near the ankle. He wrenched Bakugou back towards himself.

"My name!" he shouted, voice booming across the stadium. "Is Kensuke Tororo!"

Bakugou tried to blast the strings again, the backlash throwing him to the ground. What the hell was this, he asked himself. How was this extra countering him this goddamn hard? He swore as he tried to wrench himself free, before Kensuke finished his challenge.

"And you're gonna say it, you arrogant son of a bitch!"

**AN: **

**Kensuke mad. Here goes fight one, and with it, all the rules for writing the Sport's Festival arc. I'm not saying for certain I'm the first person to change the last event, but I think I might be? Lots of people mix up the second event because human chariots are hard to write well, but the third event... I can't recall reading a story where it wasn't a series of one-on-one fights.**

**But I wanted to try something different, and I also wanted to put certain characters in new positions and situations. And so here we are.**

**Beyond that, this chapter was sort of filler-y, and for that I apologize. I needed to bridge the gap between events two and three, but I couldn't think of a decent way to introduce this particular event without going through the teams one by one and having characters reflect on it. Show-don't-tell and all that. Here's hoping I haven't messed with the story too much.**

**There's a subtle clue as to the identity of a future character in here. Feel free to spot it instantly and make me feel unsubtle as can be. **

**Big thanks to my buddy Dev for reading this mess and letting me bounce ideas off of him. And big thanks to all of you whack jobs who actually read this voluntarily and enjoy it. You guys are really cool, and I do read every review. I may have an addiction. Please feed it. **

**All that over and done with, that's a wrap once again. Hope you all enjoyed!**


	17. Todoroki's Refrain

_Kensuke Tororo._

_Born to a construction worker and a financial secretary, Kensuke was cursed from the moment he came into being. True, on the surface looked like a normal boy, strong and healthy, if a little thin. But he was missing something, something important, something few others lacked._

"_Big brudder okay?" _

_Kensuke looked up from his hands. He was curled up in the corner of the bedroom he shared with his little sister, tears still trickling down his cheeks. He had been crying, body shaking and chest heaving with every sob. He could still hear the sound of the door slamming shut, his mother's last words to his father. Her last words to him._

'_Your fault,' she had spat, voice venomous. 'You and your defective little brat.'_

_Kensuke didn't know where she was going. But he knew she wasn't coming back. For a four year old, Kensuke was smart; he knew what it meant when mom left and declared she was never coming back. He knew what it meant when his father got the adult juice from the cabinet above the fridge and poured himself a big glass of it. He knew what it meant when mom didn't come back after a whole day where she wasn't supposed to have work. _

_But Ryoshiko didn't know what that meant. All she knew was that her big brother was very sad and her daddy was very sad and her mommy had looked very sad before leaving. She had been left to pad around the house by herself, dragging her stuffed All-Might doll behind her with a thumb in her mouth and her long black hair in her face. She hadn't cried because she didn't understand that mommy wasn't going to come back, that she would only see her once or twice a year for a few hours. The tears would come later. _

_For now, though, she was pressing a tiny hand to her big brother's scruffy mess of a haircut, her Quirk unconsciously triggering. Touch of Grace was a curious little Quirk; a touch of Ryoshiko's hand would invoke minor sensations of peace and calm. Growing older it would become stronger; Ryoshiko wanted to be a nurse and take away the pain of people who were very hurt. But for now it only made her brother steady his breathing and blink away the tears. _

"_M-my fault…" he said, voice a low rasp. "Mom left… and it's my fault…"_

_It was his fault, as far as he could tell. Five years old and without any sign of a Quirk, his father had taken him to a doctor's office to get him checked. Surely he was just a late bloomer, right? Everything would be fine._

_Everything was not fine. Kensuke was Quirkless, the second joint of his little toe proved it. He was defective, wrong, nonfunctional. His mother couldn't abide by it; she was rising through the ranks at work, looking at a promotion to executive in the near future. The scandal and loss of face having a Quirkless son would bring… she had left. And she wasn't coming back. _

_And it was Kensuke's fault. _

"_Big brudder sad…" Ryoshiko nodded slowly. "Big brudder need hugs."_

_She wrapped her chubby little arms around Kensuke, the pointy hair of her All-Might doll tickling his nose. He sneezed, and she giggled, and he giggled with her. Kensuke sniffled and hugged her back, and their father walked in to see them holding one another. He had joined the hug, picking up both his children and holding them tight to his chest. _

_Kensuke Tororo was lucky to have his family. He loved his father, who hadn't left, and his sister, who didn't blame him, more than anything. He had chosen to work as a businessman to support his father in retirement, his sister in her dream of a nursing career… and in hopes of showing his mom that just because he didn't have a Quirk, it didn't mean he couldn't stand beside her as an equal. _

_Nothing meant more to Kensuke Tororo than his family name. _

_Nothing. _

Katsuki Bakugou cursed as he wrenched his arm away from those damned glittering lines, twisting his body to use his explosions to propel himself skyward, to get some distance. He was followed by dancing threads of blue light and by ice, lots of ice, a rising mountain of it forming from the cement under Shoto Todoroki's feet. Icy Hot was going hard today, it seemed. Bakugou grinned despite himself. Good.

He blasted away at the ice with a pair of explosions, before letting himself drop back down to the cement arena to dodge the threads. They were fast in motion, but slow to react. It was obvious the extra hadn't really practiced with them before. At least, not in a combat scenario. The ice gave him decent cover, enough to hide himself from Todoroki's line of sight. The threads were still searching, but they were also retracting. Puppet-Boy was gonna be a problem if his strings could rebound explosions.

"Oy!" he called to his teammate, the girl with the bob haircut and the shy demeanour. "You've got that mushroom spore power; Icy-Hot doesn't use his fire. Dump some of that shit his way to take him down!"

"O-okay!" the girl closed her eyes and focused, pressing her palms together. "B-but d-don't get too close, or my spores will g-get you too!"

Katsuki stood back for a moment, watching as the spores filled the air. They were like motes of purple dust, slowly swirling through the air. He grinned; he wanted to see Half and Half dodge this shit, or block it with his shitty ice! His hands sparked and crackled with nitroglycerin charges; just a moment longer and he could enter the field himself!

Maybe teamwork wasn't all that overrated after all. It wasn't like people would pay attention to the girl who filled the air with mushrooms; they would pay attention to the guy who kicked the enemy's ass! He clapped his hands together and set off a larger explosion, before readying himself for another, proper aerial attack.

He didn't expect a sudden cold front, or the sight of the mushroom spores literally freezing over, turning to tiny shards of ice and clattering down to the ground. He didn't much like where this was going. He heard the sound of Todoroki's voice, loud and clear. He set off another set of explosions to make sure his hands didn't get too cold to produce sweat, and felt a bone deep chill wash over him.

"NO."

Thus spoke Shoto Todoroki.

In his mind, he could hear them; the screaming voices, the gunshots, the squeal of tires and the crash of water. And behind it all, he could feel. Strength, unyielding unbreakable strength that would stand against anything. Around him the air shimmered in the inverse of a heat haze, the moisture of the air freezing in a million tiny particle crystals as unbreakable as diamond. A shield to protect him from everything; his father's anger, the judgement of people who didn't understand his oath.

He was not his father. And with this… he would never have to be.

In another time, in another world, it was called 'White Album'. But Todoroki's Quirk had consumed it, taking over and creating something more powerful. Absolute zero at a moment's order, radiating from him by his command. The air around him itself freezing into a shield that could stop any attack, millions of frozen particles to deflect any projectile and disperse any kinetic force.

"_Gently Weeps_." he spoke, voice much lower, the sight of his mother on her knees filling his mind as screams of a man dead a hundred years and a hundred realities away filled his ears. "MY power."

Izuku watched, his eyes flashing purple.

"Valentine, was this you?" he asked, voice low.

"I cannot say." Funny replied. "It seems D4C has affected your world in more ways than one."

"This could end badly." Izuku said, glancing at the rest of his class, who were watching in awe as Todoroki's right side was enveloped in crystalline armour that glistened in the midday sun. "Should we intervene?"

"No." Funny said. "Let this happen. You must know your enemy before you strike at him, lest he surprise you with powers unexpected."

Down in the arena, Todoroki was breathing slowly, his every breath fogging the air around him. His partner stood in awe of this power, Bakugou staring with anger and confusion, and Kinoko cowering in terror at the sight of it all. Gently Weeps was true power; he understood that now. It was power that instilled fear in his foes, and trepidation in his allies. He let the cold front blossom, the air growing colder and colder. He didn't feel it anymore; it was beneath him. He was one with his ice, separate at last from his father's cursed power.

Bakugou spat, watching his saliva freeze before it could even hit the ground. Was this Half-and-Half's trump card or some shit? His big super move? Katsuki smirked. He could beat this. This was NOTHING. He brought his hands together and clapped once, building up a nice big blast. He would blow both Icy-Hot and the extra away at the same time. It would be easy. Kinoko beside him looked worried, and he grinned at her. It wasn't a reassuring grin, more of a predatory smile of hunger.

"Don't worry." he said. "I'll show these fuckers some firepower!"

He raised his hands, and sparked his blast.

The resultant explosion rocked the arena itself. The clash of superheated air from Bakugou's Devestator Shot and supercooled air from Todoroki's Gently Weeps created a literal windstorm inside the arena, tearing away hats and loose items and throwing them all around the arena. The audience went wild with shock, surprise and cheers alike at the display. Izuku watched with narrowed eyes. The air was filled mist from the two forces opposing. Izuku couldn't see the result of the blast. Which had won, he wondered? Todoroki's stubbornness? Or Bakugou's pride?

Down on the ground, Kensuke Tororo was holding on for dear life. He had wrapped his threads around one of Todoroki's ice pillars, ten glittering strands surrounding it and ensuring he only flew like a flag instead of being thrown free from arena entirely. This was insanity! This was madness! He was going to die in this stupid tournament, all because he hadn't kept his head down!

"NO."

Todoroki's voice boomed again, and Kensuke's eyes went wide as he saw another monstrous pillar of ice begin to rise. Was he serious? He was really going to freeze the whole arena? He was crazy!

The winds finally began to die down, and Kensuke found himself swinging back toward the arena, which was filled with a monstrous construct of ice. He landed and gasped at the impact, his threads disintegrating and his body breaking into shivers. It was so cold... the air itself felt like ice. He pressed his hands together, looking around.

Todoroki stood alone, still surrounded by the haze of Gently Weeps. Opposite him, staring at him through a hole in the iceberg he had summoned, stood Bakugou, hands limp at his sides and expression murderous. Kensuke groaned, before summoning his threads again.

"I'm gonna take you down, Icy-Hot." he said. "With or without your freaky fuckin' deep freeze shit. Forget the extras; you and me. Let's do this."

Kensuke scowled.

Extra. Worthless. Quirkless. Defective. Your fault. YOUR FAULT. His head spun with the same words and phrases for a long moment, his hands clenching into fists again. His threads grew without his direct input, slowly stretching down toward the cement ground. Extra. Worthless. Quirkless. Defective. Your fault.

He spat. His body trembled, muscles tending.

"Don't you DARE forget about me!" he shouted, lunging forward, reaching out with a hand and sending his threads snaking through the air.

Bakugou snarled, raising a hand and filling it with a retaliatory explosion, before the threads wrapped around his wrist and tightened hard, between each of his fingers. Bakugou's eyes went wide and he cancelled the explosion; he couldn't risk the kickback point blank like this. He wrenched his arm back, watching Kensuke stumble on the ice. Behind him Icy Hot was standing stock still, evidently focused on maintaining his super-move. Whatever. He'd just kick this extra's ass and then move on.

He expected Kensuke to go for a punch or something. He didn't expect more threads to wrap around his throat, slowly tightening to bite deeper and deeper into the sensitive flesh. Suddenly the situation went from manageable to worrying. Was this kid gonna garrotte him into unconsciousness? Seriously?

Kensuke grinned a savage grin as he closed his fist, tightening the threads even more. Evidently the answer was yes.

Bakugou let out a choked howl, raising his free hand. He didn't try to blast the thread though; that was a bad plan through and through. But the ice... he blew a hole in the ceiling of the ice tunnel, this grotto he had dug with his explosions during Todoroki's onslaught. This whole thing was already pretty fucked. One good blast to the foundations...

The ceiling began cracking in a spiderweb formation, and Bakugou smirked through the pain of being choked.

And it would all come tumbling down.

Kensuke looked up to see the ceiling rapidly disintegrating over his head, and blinked twice. This... this wasn't good. This was the opposite of good. This was a disaster in the making. He looked back at Bakugou, and saw the boy's smile. That arrogant smirk. Kensuke's eyes narrowed again. No. He wouldn't give up. He would make this arrogant son of a bitch say his name.

No matter what it took.

Kensuke had little faith in his combat ability. He had never trained his body in any martial arts, and the closest he got to a workout was walking to school every day. His Quirk was still extremely new to him, his ability with it extremely lacking compared to the hero students who had been training for over a month now. But he had one advantage against Katsuki Bakugou.

He wasn't a hero student. He wasn't looking to become a hero student.

So heroism wasn't something he much cared about.

"Bring the cave down then." He said, voice low. "Go right ahead. But I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you."

Bakugou's smirk turned to a frown, a look of genuine concern as he turned his eyes toward the ceiling, which was evidently seconds from collapse. Kensuke grinned, loosening the threads around his throat just a little.

"Now." he took a single step closer. "Say my name, you son of a bitch."

Bakugou spat on the ice at his feet, and raised a hand.

"Fuck you." he retorted, before blasting Kensuke clean in the chest. Kensuke gasped as he was lifted off his feet, the threads he had formed disintegrating from all around Bakugou as the blonde lunged forward, pausing in mid-air. He turned to look around the grotto; there. Brown hair cut in a bob hiding closed eyes. Hell. The other extra. Couldn't leave her in here...

He blitzed to her side and threw her over his shoulder, before sprinting out of the cave. He blasted away a chunk of ice threatening to fall on both of them, diving out of the grotto right before it collapsed completely. Fuck. It was even colder out here, where Icy-Hot was still doing his angry-ice-field thing. Bakugou put mushroom girl on the ground and turned toward Todoroki.

"Let's finish this, fucker!" he spat, raising his hands.

Then a fist crashed into his jaw from the side and he was knocked back, nearly falling over. He twisted to see another fist coming, and he ducked the punch. Kensuke was screaming with anger, bringing his fists down in a flurry of sloppy, rage driven punches.

Bakugou caught his hands, and head-butted the boy in the face. His nose broke on impact, and he fell backward into his ass. Fucking finally, he thought as he turned away. Time to handle Icy-Hot and finish the goddamn job. From behind him he heard a groan.

"Stay down, Tororo." he said, begrudging respect in his voice. "Or I'll make you stay down. This is Icy-Hot and I's right now. Make sure Shroom-Head is okay."

"What is your deal?" Kensuke asked, confused.

Bakugou grinned.

"I'm gonna be number one." he said. "You may be an extra, but anyone who can land a punch on me must have something going for them." His expression switched back to his usual angry scowl. "Now stay the fuck down!"

He stared at Todoroki, surrounded by that weird cold-haze. Fuck this was a drag.

"You gonna move, Icy-Hot?" he asked, glaring at the boy behind the frozen wall. "Or are you just gonna hide in your little igloo? Show me some fucking fire already, come on!"

"NO."

"Is that all you can fucking say now or some shit?" Bakugou spat, readying his hands for another big explosion. "Get out here and fight me!"

A moment of silence, before Todoroki opened his eyes. The left was dull and empty, but the right; the right shone with a cold blue light. Wait. Hold up. Didn't Icy-Hot have different-coloured eyes? What the fuck was this?

"Fine."

Ice. More ice than Bakugou knew what to do with. Except he knew exactly what to do. He loosed another monstrous explosion, and watched that incoming wave of frozen water crumble and break.

"Is that all you have?" he shouted, starting to run now, building more explosives in his hands again. "Is that all you can do?"

Todoroki didn't move. But the ice came, and Bakugou blew it away again.

"Come on!" Bakugou screamed, blasting away another incoming frozen wall. "Fucking fight me, you coward!"

Todoroki didn't move.

Bakugou snarled with audible rage, bringing both hands together. This was the big one. The one that would finish this shit. He was angry. He was cold. He was tired. His wrists were sore. But most of all, he was fucking sick of this. This was a joke of a fight. What the fuck was Icy-Hot doing, hiding behind a shield like that? Where was the power? Where was the drive?

"Why the fuck are you even here, huh?" Bakugou asked, roaring the question as he readied his Bunker Buster Blast. "Half-assing it with your broken-ass Quirk? Do you even wanna be a fucking hero?"

Bakugou had no idea his question would dig so deep into Todoroki's psyche that the boy's power would lessen as he was shaken to his core. He didn't realize that the self-assured righteousness that had triggered Gently Weeps had just been broken by a simple question. He didn't know Todoroki's defences were, in that moment, lessened.

All he knew was that when he raised his hands and loosed an explosion strong enough to level the average suburban house, it didn't just blow through Todoroki's defences. It blew through Todoroki himself, throwing him some forty feet into the air and letting him drop on the grass around the concrete pad of the arena, limp and lifeless.

Bakugou stared, hands smoking.

The audience fell silent.

Todoroki lay totally still on the grass. He was smoking, the front of his gym uniform a ragged mess from the force of the Bunker Buster. The ice armour of Gently Weeps had been obliterated by the blast.

Izuku Midoriya dove between two classmates in front of him, emerging between a loose chunk of the iceberg Bakugou had blown to pieces, and sprinted to Todoroki's side. He came skidding to a halt, sliding on his knees and pressing a hand to the boy's neck.

He felt it under his fingers. A fluttering, weak movement, unsteady and uncertain. But he felt a heartbeat.

"MEDIC!" he shouted.

The crowd stayed silent, shocked by the display they had just witnessed.

Katsuki Bakugou had won.

And nobody even seemed to notice.

**AN: **

**And it's about here where this story will begin to take a turn for the darker side. I'm not gonna be going crazy and murdering characters left and right... but there will be consequences formerly unseen in the manga. If you personally dislike that, then I apologize. But this story started as a half-joke premise, and now I've begun to go far deeper than I ever intended. So I'm gonna ride this wild ride to the end and see where it takes me.**

**If you're willing to join me on that trip, I hope you're ready. Stuff is coming; some big stuff, some small stuff, and some bizarre stuff. People will be changed, things will get harder for everybody involved, and the world may even be irrevocably changed a few times. But hey, isn't that was fan fiction is for?**

**As for my usual character breakdowns: **

**Katsuki is going to learn what consequences are in this story, with perhaps a little more severity than in canon. **

**Kensuke got his Seras Victoria moment. He'll be back eventually, but for now this is the end of his story.**

**Kinoko didn't do much here, at least of her own accord. But trust me; she's gonna be important to Katsuki's story. She already has been, to be honest. **

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	18. Silence Falls

"Where is my son?"

Enji Todoroki knew full well he was striking fear into the heart of the young nurse he was looming over. He also knew he didn't care. If she was afraid, then so be it. He wasn't here to make sure she felt comfortable; he was here to learn of his son's condition. She stared up at him, eyes wide, and he willed the flames of his costume to die down ever so slightly. As little as he cared for fear, it would not do to burn down a hospital in his anger.

"Y-your son, sir?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Shoto Todoroki." he said. "My son. He was admitted to this hospital less than an hour ago, from the UA Sports Festival. I would have been here sooner, but there was a sighting of the Hero Killer nearby. Where is he?"

The woman looked down at her desk, fingers fumbling with a binder full of names. It took her a long moment to find the right page, but eventually she nodded slowly.

"Sh-Shoto Todoroki is in Ward three-one-four." she said. "Being presided over b-by Doctor Hiro Hakane. W-will that be all, sir?"

"Yes." he was already walking away. Three-one-four. That wasn't intensive care, so clearly the injuries weren't life-threatening. A good sign, but how long would that hold up? His hands adopted the shapes of fists as he moved. This… this was a familiar hospital. Rei was somewhere in here, on the fifth floor if he remembered correctly.

Rei. He felt that pang of guilt bite as his stomach for a moment, before he killed it with the fires of his determination. What had happened was tragic. She had scarred their son for life, tried to hurt him, branded him. She had hurt Shoto, his legacy, his only worthy son. For that she had needed to be punished. His anger from that night still simmered deep within him some nights. He had been a fool, but…

It was too late for that now. Enji Todoroki's story was just about ended. Shoto was his last chance at victory over that walking cartoon character who called himself the number one hero. Perhaps when his future was secure… maybe then Enji could bring himself to face the mistakes of his past. Maybe then he could search for redemption of a sort. But first, the future. Always look forward, he told himself. Even if all he could see was that damned red cape fluttering in the wind.

He stood alone in the elevator, having been given space to do so when none of the waiting civilians had stepped in with him. He couldn't blame them; elevators got warm when he was around, even with his fires calmed like this. He ran one hand down the length of his forearm, feeling the taut muscle and scarred flesh, and sighed. Fuyumi had wanted to come with him, but he had refused to pick her up. She was likely on her way as he stood there, taking a cab or sprinting down the street. She was more of a mother to Shoto than Rei had ever been.

Enji clenched his fists suddenly, looking up to the ceiling. What was wrong with him today? He wasn't the sort to spend his time reminiscing on his past in such a melancholic manner. He was Endeavour, number two hero of Japan and its most successful in terms of villains caught and cases concluded. If it weren't for the overwhelming nature of his prime rival, he would be number one! He didn't have time to waste dreaming of what could have been!

It was Shoto's injury, he told himself. His son, his legacy, was injured. He was right to be concerned about it; it might risk Shoto's chances of being number one in the future. Even more so than his childish refusal to use his own fire. Perhaps it was Enji's fault, or perhaps it was simply mindless teenage rebellion with no consideration for the future. The latter wouldn't have surprised Enji all that much; he had been much the same as a student, always brawling and arguing with anybody who challenged him. It was natural for a child to rebel, to try and become their own person.

But Enji couldn't afford to let Shoto change too much. His life's work depended on Shoto's success. Because if Shoto was successful, perhaps then Enji could justify to himself his many sins, and perhaps one day forgive himself for them.

He strode down the corridor, a mountain of muscle and fire. Others stepped out of his way; everybody knew immediately who he was. It was impossible not to; he was the number two hero, a title that ate at his pride every day he held it. He watched doctors, nurses and civilians alike all rush to the walls, looking to avoid him. He ignored them after that, reading the placards beside the doors. Three-oh-nine. Three-eleven. To his right, then. Three-twelve. Three-one-four.

He paused, then reached out, taking the door handle in his hand. It opened smoothly, and he stepped inside, ducking under the doorframe. The room was quiet, sterile white all over. But it was not empty. There was Shoto, laying in a bed, eyes closed. And beside him… long green hair tied back in a simple ponytail and a UA sports uniform. He knew this boy; the one who had outclassed his son in two successive events in the past hours.

Izuku Midoriya. He had committed the name to memory, curious that he didn't recognize the name or face. The name struck a chord with him, something he recalled from his past, but he couldn't quite say why. This was the boy who had come out of nowhere, the ace of Class 1-A, the one some labelled the hero of the USJ incident. Word of mouth told that he had fought off the selfsame monster that had nearly killed Eraserhead, at least until All Might arrived to deliver the killing blow.

Enji stared down at him, and noted that he was staring back, meeting his gaze. Curious. There was no fear in those emerald eyes; only a quiet confidence and a touch of something that looked like anger. Was the boy upset with him? Had he done something to incur his wrath? Odd. He had never seen the boy before today. He still had never spoken with him. Where was that anger coming from?

"You're late." Izuku Midoriya declared. "He's been here alone for twenty minutes. You were at the arena. Where were you?"

Enji's anger flared, but he bit it back.

"The Hero Killer was seen nearby." he declared. "I was asked to investigate."

Why was he justifying himself to this child? He had his reasons, and this boy had no right to question him this way. And yet… there was something in the severity of that gaze, something that made him hesitate in his desire to call this child out for criticizing him. There was weight there, and power. This boy was stronger than Enji knew.

But he was still a boy. Enji stared back, and let his own determination show. The boy held his gaze for a long moment, before nodding down to Shoto's inert form..

"This is your fault, in a roundabout way." Izuku said. "Had he used his fire, he wouldn't have aroused Bakugou's anger, and he wouldn't have clung so much to the power of his Gently Weeps. Bakugou wouldn't have gone so far."

"Watch your mouth, boy." Enji spat. "My son's stubbornness is his own choice."

The boy stood up. He was shorter than Enji by a good foot and a half, but in spite of that he looked as tall as Enji. That confidence, that power… where was it coming from? What had this boy done that had left him so firm in his own convictions? What life experiences could have tempered him this much?

'_More than you could know.' _answered a phantom voice that sent a shiver down Enji's spine.

Was that a reflection of a man in the window behind Midoriya, standing behind him? Enji whirled around. Nothing but a closed door. He turned back toward Midoriya, who hadn't moved. He stood tall and proud.

"To think that I once looked up to you," Izuku said, voice low, almost… tired? "I thought you were almost on par with All Might. I thought you were a hero."

"I am a hero." Enji retorted, taking a step forward.

Midoriya shook his head.

"Heroes don't scar their wives' bodies and their children's souls." he replied, and Enji felt that same shiver go down his spine again. "Heroes don't scowl and growl as they save lives. Heroes don't inspire fear."

The boy shook his head.

"You aren't a hero." he said, voice as cold as ice. "You're a bully with a superpower."

Enji opened his mouth to retort, but the boy stepped back, grabbing the curtain wear it sat next to the window. He pulled it toward himself, spinning on the spot and wrapping himself up in it. The curtain fell back, and the boy was gone. Enji stared for a long moment, and then narrowed his eyes. Damned warp quirks. His eyes fell to his son, as he put the conversation he'd just had in the back of his mind.

Shoto was asleep, breathing slowly. He looked well… but there were bandages over his ears? What was that about? Had the explosion burnt him? His hair looked untouched…

Enji's eyes went wide. No. Surely not. It couldn't be… but it made sense. Wretched, awful, horrible sense. The bandages, the way he didn't awake during his argument with the boy, the explosion...

'_Your fault.' _he heard the voice again, whispering in his ear. '_Your sins. Your __**legacy**__.'_

Enji shouted in rage, and his newly deafened son didn't hear a single word of it.

**AN:**

**Explosions are really dangerous.**

**Yes, Todoroki is deaf now. This isn't a red herring or a setup for a twist; Bakugou just maimed somebody in a fight. What does this mean? I'm not telling. Just know that this will be the first major departure from canon. It will not be the last. Not by a longshot.**

**Hope you all enjoyed. See you with the next chapter.**


	19. Blackmore's Rising

People were getting used to Izuku's habit of spontaneously appearing between two objects. It was a little disappointing, but also rather wonderful since people were less prone to staring at him. Izuku slid out between two of the chairs in the bleachers, between Kaminari and Shoji. The first seemed a little surprised, while the second just moved his arms to give Izuku room to wiggle out.

He hopped over the seat in front of him and landed in it, right next to Ibara Shiozaki, who glanced at him sidelong and then nodded once. He was being acknowledged by his partner of necessity, at least. It was a step above her usual cold glares. He still wasn't sure what he had done to earn her ire in the past.

"What did I miss?" he asked. "Todoroki's in the hospital, but there's something I'll have to tell my class after."

Ibara glanced down at the arena below them.

"Tetsutetsu and your red headed classmate were defeated." she explained. "Quite handily. Not a punch was thrown."

Izuku blinked. Kirishima losing, without throwing a punch? His mind raced with theories. Had Yaoyorozu created a cannon of some kind, a ranged weapon with which to blast them away? Or maybe the purple haired boy had used his own Quirk, which Izuku knew nothing of? It was hard to say...

"The boy with the purple hair spoke to them, and they walked out of bounds." Ibara explained. "It was quite anticlimactic. We haven't seen either since their lost."

Izuku blinked. Spoke to them... and they just walked away? Curious... some sort of mind control Quirk, perhaps. They did exist, rare as they were. Villains such as Siren and Liar's Lament were known for using their own mind control Quirks to great effect in organized crime syndicates. There was even a hero in Africa who could sing to control her foes for a time. Was this boy like them? An interesting matchup for Bakugou then, mind games against brute force...

Izuku hummed softly.

"The next match is Sero and Itsuka against Blackmore and Tsuburaba." he noted. "I'm curious to see how well Blackmore performs. He hasn't quite had a chance to shine so far... a shame it isn't raining. That would have shown these folks something to see."

Ibara glared at him again, and he raised an eyebrow. Well, it did seem that her ire had something to do with Blackmore...

He froze. In his mind, puzzle pieces started to slowly click together. Blackmore's strange behaviour, his long looks into seemingly random crowds, the peace he had apparently found out of nowhere... and now this girl, who he knew to be a practicing Christian, which was a rare thing be in a world such as this, and rarer still in Japan. Blackmore was also...

"You care for him." Izuku said. "More than he knows."

"His soul is wounded." she replied. "Anybody can see that. He is hurt, lost, confused, and he hides behind a mask because he is afraid of inconveniencing those he considers better."

"He's much stronger than you know." Izuku said, shaking his head.

"He made an honest mistake after a traumatizing situation and his first instinct was to beat his head against a wall in penance." she told him, and Izuku froze again.

"He did what?"

Ibara cocked her head to one side, clearly confused.

"He is convinced he is in some way defective, and that if he shows it his 'master' will be displeased with him." she informed him. "And I have reason to suspect you are the master he fears so."

Izuku took that in stride for a moment, thinking. He had given Blackmore no reason to fear him, he believed; it wasn't as though he would turn the boy away if he failed. It was his responsibility to care for him; in a world where he was a stranger in a strange land, what sort of monster would take from him his only safe refuge? That would be impressively unheroic, and morally reprehensible to boot.

But did Blackmore know that, he wondered? He communed with Valentine for a moment, who said nothing, and narrowed his eyes. Perhaps…

"I don't know much about Blackmore's past… but I do know ;he didn't exactly have the most standard childhood." Izuku said. "Perhaps… perhaps this is something from his past. Something he chose not to tell me…"

Ibara stared at him for a time, analyzing his expression, before blinking as her expression shifted from accusatory to surprised. She touched a hand to his shoulder, drawing his attention, and then spoke.

"You truly did not know…" she said slowly, as if it were just occurring to her. "You had no idea he… oh, I've made assumptions once again, haven't I?"

"Yes." Izuku replied, nodding. "Though at least now I know why you kept glaring at me all day. And, in your defence... it wasn't as though you were without reason to suspect me. I am the only other person who regularly interacts with Blackmore, and he does live with me."

"He lives with you?"

"In the spare bedroom across the hall, yes." Izuku smiled. "My mother adores him. She signed adoption papers just last week."

"So that makes him-"

"My brother, yes. He was rather flustered when I first told him, so much so I thought he'd panic and run for a moment. He instead chose to stay with me, something for which my mother and I am extremely grateful."

Izuku chuckled at her confusion, patting her shoulder with a hand while looking down toward the arena proper. The next match would likely be starting in a moment, and he didn't want to miss any of it. This was Blackmore's time to shine, to show the world he too was a hero worthy of standing beside the other students. Izuku watched with amusement as their opponents strode out onto the platform first; Sero and Kendo both looked rested and ready, the former stretching his hands over his head while the other cracked her knuckles.

And then Blackmore entered the field. He had his mask on, as was typical of him when entering battle. Beside him walked his partner, Tsuburaba, who had a grim, serious look on his face. Curious; he looked almost angry. Had Blackmore said something, perhaps? Izuku swallowed. He certainly hoped not. Beside him, Ibara was watching as the boy she had first seen falling from the sky in a rainstorm marched out into the sunlight, before a roaring crowd. They knew him already from his clash with Todoroki and his second place finish, for his foreign name and his foreign mannerisms. To the crowd he was a wildcard, an unknown element they couldn't predict.

Blackmore bowed his head when he was asked about his readiness. Kendo and Sero. He knew both; Kendo's strength and Sero's mobility, though on a flat plain such as this the latter would be challenged somewhat. The main threat he posed was the risk of immobilization, which Blackmore could easily avoid with his liquid state. As for Kendo... Blackmore had a plan for her. It wasn't a gentle plan, or a considerate plan. But it was a plan, and this was a battle. There was no room for gentleness or consideration. She had placed herself in the field of conflict with Blackmore; let her fight her way out, or fail trying.

"Let's have a good fight, yeah?" Sero said, offering them a thumbs up. Blackmore gave him a curt nod, and Tsuburaba just grunted.

"BEGIN!" Present Mic shouted, and Blackmore burst into motion.

A streak of white, of red and predominantly of blue hurtled through the air, fronted by an expressionless mask marked with a rainbow. Sero dodged away from the incoming attack, only to find himself assailed from behind when Blackmore reformed with his mask on the back of his head and kicked him in the spine. Itsuka came at him from the side, her fists expanding to cover her partner, but she ran face first into an invisible wall before she could get that far.

"Tag!" Tsuburaba called, as if in warning, and Blackmore went liquid again, streaking skyward for a moment before turning back and bringing himself down on Itsuka from above.

Tsuburaba blew himself a new wall and Sero's tape simply stuck to it rather than him, a definite improvement. Kendo caught Blackmore in one giant fist and then immediately recalled that liquid wasn't exactly something you could hold in a fist, letting him pour out of her grip and reform right in front of her. Considering her fist was already raised, she just brought her hand down, hoping to clobber him atop the head.

Blackmore turned into liquid and coursed behind her, between her legs, reforming and taking a backhand from a hand the size of a human being, sending him flying. His right side ached like absent mercy, but he ignored it in favour of landing, rolling and turning back into liquid form to approach her again. He reformed led with a jab, one which she snapped her head to the side to dodge before following up with a right hook that could likely take the head off an elephant. He dodged as well, reverting to liquid form.

The two danced back and forth like this for a short time, Blackmore slowly pushing her back with an endless series of quick attacks that forced her to backstep, until finally he went liquid again and shot straight up. Her eyes followed him, and so she missed Tsuburaba lunging at her from the front, having worked her way around. The boy rammed his shoulder into her, knocking her into his barrier behind her before blowing a new one into existence.

Then, Itsuka felt a pressure, all around her. She tried to turn her head and realized the truth; Tsuburaba had blown another wall into existence right behind her, trapping her between the two! She tried to move her hands, but her fists were too large and she could muster up the strength to break them from immobility. Blackmore turned into liquid and coursed over the wall, back toward Sero, who was in the middle of deducing just how many invisible walls were present by flinging his tape all around the arena. A clever enough move, marking his unseen obstacles... but also much, much too slow.

Blackmore came down on him with a crashing impact, landing on his shoulders feet first and driving him down into the ground. The air was knocked from his lungs by that move alone, but then Blackmore stayed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He couldn't get a good angle with his tape and flat on the floor like this he couldn't get his arms under him for leverage. He was pinned, well and truly, as Blackmore sat on his back to spread the weight around.

"Yield." Blackmore demanded, voice low and cold. "You have-"

The word 'lost' never escaped his lips, cut off by the strange glass-like sound of Tsuburaba's barrier breaking. The boy called a warning, but Blackmore was a moment too slow to react, giving Kendo time to wrap her much more human sized arms and hands around his throat in a choke-hold. It was an impressive one at that; she had obviously been well trained by somebody, her muscles defined and powerful, much more so than any of Blackmore's own female classmates.

But she had apparently, in her desperate race to be free of Tsuburaba's trap, forgotten just who Blackmore was. He went liquid again, and coursed straight down and behind her once more. He predicted the counterstrike, with the mega sized backhand, and delayed his return to solidity until after her fist was passed before reforming and bringing his fist up into her solar-plexus with all the force he could muster.

The air left her lungs in a single wretched gasp, and he grabbed a fistful of her top to wrench her off balance, pulling her close as a shield against a streamer of tape from Sero's elbow. She struggled in vain, but the human body needed air to function and she couldn't quite get enough to manage anything more trying than continued consciousness. Sero was frozen for about half a second too long, and Blackmore shoved the off-balance Kendo toward him.

The two hit the ground sprawling, and Tsuburaba rushed at them from the side again, having made his way around his own divider wall, and blew a new wall into existence on top of them, a ceiling to pin them to the ground. Itsuka, being hardly able to breathe, couldn't say much, so it was up to Sero to admit defeat from under her, in spite of her rasped arguments that she could keep going.

"AND THAT'S A MATCH!" Present Mic shouted, the crowd going wild. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; RAYMOND BLACKMORE AND KOSEI TSUBURABA, YOUR WINNERS FOR THE ROUND!"

Blackmore bowed, and Tsuburaba punched the air with a fist, before Midnight strolled over to shatter his air-wall atop Sero and Kendo with a powerful stomp, smiling at the pair as she offered them a hand up. Sero took it, scarcely noticing the boobs in front of his face as he brought Kendo up with him. The redhead was still struggling to breathe; Blackmore could have killed her with that blow, though he had held back enough to ensure it was only a temporary debilitation instead.

"Hey... good job." Kosei said, offering Blackmore a hand to shake after catching his breath. "You... you did good. I'm sorry for what I said earlier..."

He trailed off when he noticed Blackmore wasn't paying attention; instead, the blonde's eyes seemed to be on the bleachers, one spot in particular being his focus. Kosei looked that way himself, noting that it was where the other students were sitting.

"Yeah, your classmates are probably pretty impressed." he said. "Mine too, actually. You wanna go get a drink?"

He touched a hand to the boy's shoulder, who once again said nothing. Blackmore looked him, and nodded, touching two fingers to his throat. He let out a rasping breath and Kosei blinked, before grinning.

"Oh, so that's your Quirks weakness..." he said, grinning. "It dries you out, huh? Can't say I'm surprised... let's go get some water."

The two walked off the stage, Blackmore leaning on Kosei slightly. He was very dry; consistently maintaining his liquid form was one thing, but swapping back and forth rapidly... in the supercooled air of the frozen arena Todoroki had made it was easier, but under the blazing midday sun he found the heat sapped his strength even more. He would need to be more careful in the next match, and conserve his stamina.

Izuku looked over at Ibara.

"He seems to have found someone else to trust." he said. "Like I said, he's stronger than he seems."

Ibara said nothing.

"We're up next," Izuku continued, standing up and offering her a hand. "I'd prefer we present a united front during our own match; Shoji and Kyoka may not be the top students of Class 1-A, but they're both diligent and dangerous if underestimated. Together they will likely pose quite a threat."

"A united front it is." she agreed.

Ibara took his hand, nodding as he pulled her up to her feet. She had that calm, graceful smile back on her face, a rather serene look. Izuku could understand now what Blackmore saw in her, though Funny was unconvinced.

'_Too young.'_ the man said in Izuku's mind. '_An older woman who can keep up with you would suit you better. Like that teacher of yours; the one you pulled into this dimension.'_

Izuku, to his credit, managed to keep his calm expression despite that little interjection.

**AN: **

**I particularly enjoy writing a good fistfight between two fairly evenly matched characters, as the observant in the audience may be able to tell. I also happen to enjoy foreshadowing, so keep an eye out for that between brawls. **

**A shame about Kendo and Sero, but Catch the Rainbow and Hard Air have surprising synergy; the former offers great mobility and the latter fantastic field manipulation. Combining the two makes for a satisfying and efficient pairing as the first ensures the second can't debilitate the user all too much. Add to that the fact that Blackmore is a trained killer of men, and I imagine there are few who could match him in a one on one. Add to THAT superpowers, and while the field can be levelled somewhat, experience will always come out on top. **

**Izuku and Ibara are in for a fun showing after this; never underestimate the side cast. There will be a good fight next chapter. And after that... well, Bakugo has some stuff to deal with, and we haven't seen much of Shinso yet. Don't worry about that though; you'll get your fill soon enough.**

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	20. Bakugou Retorts

"This wasn't a fight."

Izuku Midoriya stood with his hands clasped behind his back, enduring the strange sensation of vines all around him, writhing on his skin and plunging into the bridge between nothings made by his Quirk. In front of him Shoji Mezo and Kyoka Jiro were on their knees, their limbs wrapped in verdant green tendrils that forced them into immobility. Behind him Ibara Shiozaki was sighing softly, the vines of her hair stretching forward and into the collar of Izuku's top, disappearing into the space between his clothes and flesh and materializing all around their opponents.

The match was called. The time? Fifteen seconds from start to surrender. The method? A display of synergy unmatched by any number of competitors thus far. The result?

A crowd gone wild.

Cheers, shouts and applause rang from all sides, men and women throwing their hands in the air and joining their voices in a chorus of celebration. Izuku was already a celebrity of sorts, the boy with the green hair who could do the improbable and the impossible with ease. Warp Quirks were a sight to behold for the common man, being so rare and peculiar. His mature demeanour and calm, respectful attitude only furthered his growing popularity. The crowd was simply addicted at this point, begging for more.

Bets were being placed, and nobody would bet against the Midoriya/Shiozaki team-up. Against Bakugou and Komori? Easy win. Blackmore and Tsuburaba? Piece of cake. Hitoshi and Yaoyorozu? What was even the point of laying money on the table? All over Japan people were saying his name, discussing his deeds.

He was almost instantly famous. All it had taken was one good day.

'_This is good.'_ said Valentine, the one who had guided him to this point. '_Hear them shout, hear them cheer. They are with you now. But you must earn more than their confidence; you must earn their respect. Prove to them that you are the hero they need, the one they think they deserve. Show them who you are... and who you will one day be.'_

Izuku said nothing, for what was there to say? He didn't revel in his victory, he simply signalled for Ibara to withdraw her vines before offering Kyoka a hand up. One she accepted, perhaps with a measure of reluctance. He couldn't blame her; losing a battle in fifteen seconds wasn't good optics for her future hero career. But he didn't dare pity her, for he knew that would be an even greater humiliation in her mind.

She took his hand and he brought her to her feet, and she stared him in the eye for a moment. No words were spoken; she simply turned and walked away. Indignity, then. Perhaps anger. Whatever it was, he offered Shoji a hand as well. It was engulfed by a much larger grip, and Shoji rose with a groan.

"Thank you." he said, bowing his masked head. "I expect you hoped for more from us. I apologize."

"This was a bad matchup." Izuku replied, shaking his head. "You are a close ranged powerhouse, and Jiro a versatile hero who relies on preparation. In comparison... we are two power-types with the fortune of extremely compatible Quirks. This match was effectively rigged from the start."

"That is not true." Shoji's retort caught Izuku off guard, making him blink in surprise. "There were ways for us to retaliate against your attack. A sonic wave through the ground to disrupt your concentration, using my Quirk to overwhelm you physically before you could initiate your combo attack... there were options. We must better ourselves."

"The gulf between our abilities-" Shoji shook his head, cutting Izuku off hard.

"Can only be bridged with hard work, discipline, and careful application of the power we were born with." he said. "Do not assume birthright is all a man has to offer. Is not Eraserhead a man... er, woman of skill over born ability?"

Izuku couldn't think of a counterpoint. He instead looked at the floor for a moment, narrowing his eyes. In his mind, there were those born with power and those born without. He had been the second for nearly all his life. In gaining these powers, these gifts of two of the universe's mightiest men, had he fallen into the same trap of ego Bakugou and others had? Had he become the same sort of person who had once disregarded him for being Quirkless?

He wasn't certain. Perhaps he hadn't yet, but was on that path. Perhaps he was, and needed to change. Or perhaps he wasn't, and all this was pointless speculation. But it was a good thing to consider regardless.

"You're right." he said, nodding slowly. "I... I have been a fool about all this, haven't I? I've thought of myself as somehow greater than you all."

"You stand above us at this time, true." Shoji said. "But do not delude yourself into thinking you will remain there forever. We will close the gap."

"Then I'll have to strive to stay ahead." Izuku concludes, before offering Shoji a hand. "Thank you. I... I needed to hear that."

"And I need to speak with you after the festival." Shoji replied. "It's about... well, I cannot say. But I suspect it is related to your Quirk, the warp part."

Izuku nodded.

"I'll find you once this is ended." he agreed. "If I may ask...?"

"Tokoyami has been suffering from a rash of strange nightmares." he said. "And Dark Shadow... it has been changing, he tells me. It complains of something else intruding upon the space within him. And he feels a bizarre draw to you when he thinks of it."

Izuku thought for a moment on this new information. Nightmares, changes, something within...

"I will be there." he promised.

Shoji shook his hand again, before Izuku turned away and walked back to the waiting rooms, where he and Ibara would await their next match. There wasn't enough time to get to the bleachers, as they would likely arrive and then end up running back down to prepare anyways. Ibara followed him, shadowing his left side.

"I trust our victory has satisfied you?" she asked.

"Less than I expected." Izuku replied, shaking his head. "I had hoped for a proper fight. As it stands, it seems I'll be looking to Blackmore and Tsuburaba for a good brawl."

"You are a curious person." said Ibara, shaking her head. "Your desire for fighting is matched only by those periods of bizarrely calm analysis and the occasional melancholic soliloquy."

"I'm sure it's endearing." said Izuku.

"That's an interesting way of saying 'odd'." Ibara replied.

"Blackmore has proven quite the role mode for expanding my vocabulary." Izuku chuckled. "Another thing I need to thank him for. Along with the twenty-or-so other things."

Izuku and Ibara withdrew to their waiting room, turning on the monitor that would show them the coming fight, one Izuku was quite interested to see. Had Bakugo yet recovered from the prior fight? What of his partner? And then there was the matter of the boy with the purple hair, and his unknown Quirk. Perhaps Izuku would be able to analyze this new challenger as well...

"IT'S BEEN A LONG, HARD FOUGHT DAY SO FAR, BUT WE'RE GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE FINISHER, LISTENERS!" Present Mic's voice boomed. "COMING IN AFTER AN EXPLOSIVE FINISH TO THEIR LAST MATCH, IT'S KATSUKI BAKUGOU AND KINOKO KOMORI!"

Katsuki Bakugou walked out, hiding his face from the cameras by staring at the ground. Behind him followed Kinoko, hands together in front of her, fingers knotted up in a tangled mess and eyes hidden behind her hair. Across from them, Shinso Hitoshi and Momo Yaoyorozu walked side by side, the former slumping over slightly with his hands in his pockets and the latter constantly looking around. Izuku followed both groups with his eyes; nobody looked excited to be there, especially not Bakugo, who looked to be nearly dead on his feet.

"Perhaps he should be." he muttered aloud, letting a confused Ibara wonder what exactly he was on about.

In the arena, Kinoko Komori was afraid. She knew just about nothing of what was going through her partner's head right now, and that was scaring her because she wasn't confident she could handle these two on her own. She had tried to talk to him, tried to get him to communicate, even tried hugging him like Itsuka would. All to no effect, though the last saw him mutter 'fuck off' so maybe she had broken through a little.

"Well, if it isn't the monster of Class 1-A." said the boy with the purple hair, making Kinoko start and Bakugo actually look up. "Tired from hospitalizing your classmate, or are you just now realizing you don't have what it takes to be a hero?"

Bakugou grunted, and the purple haired boy seemed almost disappointed.

"Oh come now, surely you must be feeling something..." he said, smirking. "Tell me, did it feel good, blowing that stuck up son of a hero away like that? Showing him you were better despite his birthright? Or did it dawn on you could have killed him with that attack? Is that regret on your face?"

"Hey-" Kinoko interrupted, before freezing in place. This was strange; why couldn't she move? Her arms fell slack at her sides, her eyes glaring over. What was happening? Why couldn't she move? She was trying to speak, but her mouth wouldn't make sounds. What was going on?

"Or is the animal in front of me just sad he couldn't go all the way?" the purple haired boy continued, slowly approaching Bakugou, hands still in his pockets and a sadistic grin on his face. "Were you trying to kill him? Are you disappointed he survived? I can't blame you..."

He got closer and closer, while Bakugou slowly looked down at the floor again, as if in defeat. What was this, Kinoko wondered? The boy's Quirk? Momo stood silently by, watching with clear horror in her eyes, but not daring to interrupt her partner who had told her to let him handle the fight.

"After all, its not like he was giving you a good fight." Shinso was only a few feet from Bakugou now, looming over him with hands free of his pockets, eyes narrowed and smile fading. "Is that all you wanted? A good fight? A good hard brawl? Or maybe you-"

He fell silent when every last iota of air was driven from his lungs, a thunderous impact slamming into his sternum. Kinoko watched with widening eyes as Bakugou delivered a righteous sucker punch straight to the boy's gut, blasting him clean across the arena with a snarl of pure rage. Shinso came down hard, crashing into the cement near the entrance, wheezing and gasping for air before wrenching, rolling onto his side to throw up whatever he had eaten for lunch that day all over the ground.

Bakugou stalked forward, an animal snarl on his face.

"I didn't want to put half and half in the hospital, you fuck." he snarled, drawing closer with hands crackling, tiny detonations cooking off in preparation for the bigger blast to come. "I didn't want to hurt him that bad. I just wanted to win. And you know what?"

Bakugou's hands came down, wrapping around the collar of Shinso's top and hauling him up to eye level, so the boy could better see the rage on his face.

"I don't even want to hurt you that bad." he declared. "But you come in here with a shitty mind-control Quirk you didn't even try to hide until now, and you start talking shit like you're some kind of mastermind who has me all figured out? Like you fucking know who I am?"

Bakugou released his grip with one hand, holding the boy up with the strength of his right arm alone while his left fired off a blast backwards, sending Momo tumbling ass over teakettle with a staff in her hands. He spat on the ground, ignoring the pathetic wheezing attempts at words coming from Shinso's mouth and throwing him on the ground, right next to the out of bounds.

"You think you're a fucking genius, some kind of terrifying mind-controlling puppetmaster, but I've seen scarier shit before." His throat ached slightly where a tiny hole had long since patched over with scar tissue, a permanent reminder of the boy who could have killed him, who could still easily kill him. "I've fought scarier shit before, and I've beaten the shit out scarier shit before. So fuck you, fuck your self-righteous 'woe is me' act..."

Katsuki hauled the boy back up to eye level, and dropped him off the cement pad of the arena, out of bounds.

"And fuck every other motherfucker like you who doesn't know shit about me and just makes it all up." he concluded. "Now, I'm gonna go give the walking encyclopedia over there a good fucking fight, so you sit down, shut up, and try to learn something. Got it?"

Shinso, still straining to do anything more than breathe even, just nodded.

And Bakugou turned, readying himself for a fight, only to find his partner holding Momo in a chokehold, mushrooms growing all over the other girl's exposed arms.

"I got her!" Kinoko declared happily. "Did we win?"

Bakugou walked over, grinning a hollow grin.

"Fuck yeah we did." he declared.

**AN: **

**It's gonna take more than a mistake to knock Bakugou out of a fight. Especially not when he's got a tournament to win. For those hoping he would suffer and suffer and suffer... sorry, but that's not my style. I'm not here to write a bash-fic; I'm here to write a story. I've enjoyed a bit of Bakugou bashing myself in the past, but I find most of it to be a disservice to a rather complex and interesting character too many people seem to simply denigrate as 'angry explosion bully' while ignoring his deeper flaws and redeeming qualities alike.**

**He will suffer. Everybody suffers. It's part of life. But he isn't going to be humiliated. He isn't going to be mocked. And he certainly isn't going to take anything of the sort lying down. He's going to fight back with everything he has in him because he's Katsuki Bakugou and that's what he does.**

**Izuku and Ibara are starting to work. Kind of. They've got a ways to go. Next chapter will be lots of Izuku and Blackmore angsting, brawling and generally solving their problems the Shounen way, which also happens to be my favourite way; spirited debate over superpowers fisticuffs. **

**And to conclude; here's a stupid joke conversation I wrote at eleven PM while trying to sleep. Hope you hate it as much as I do.**

"No." said Shotaka Aizawa to the bathroom mirror, unable to do much more than sigh deeply after the figure standing beside her in the reflection didn't walk away immediately.

"Why not?" asked Funny Valentine... or at least, a reflection of Funny Valentine, who sounded like he was right next to her even though he was not. "You are intelligent, diligent, capable and mature. He is intelligent, diligent, capable and mature. He is a perfect partner."

"Why are you in a bathroom mirror?" she retorted, answering a question with a less ludicrous question.

"Why do you refuse to court Izuku Midoriya?" Funny Valentine fired back, bringing them to a three-question combo.

"Because he's almost half my age." said Shotaka. "And that's not normal."

"He is turning sixteen in a month, and you have already turned twenty-eight this year." replied Funny. "There is only a twelve year gap."

"That's two more years than my youngest sister has been alive." she replied, not certain if she still had younger siblings in this reality. "That's a big gap."

"Don't you Japanese have something called 'Shotacon' which is popular amongst older women?" interjected Funny. "Midoriya may not look that innocent, but I can assure you as one who shares his mind; the boys experience with the opposite sex is effectively nonexistent."

"I'm not dignifying that with a response." said Shotaka, turning on the faucet to wash her hands. To her right, a woman was staring at her with confusion and fear as she spoke to her own reflection. "Also, you're making me look crazy."

"You just did." said Valentine. "And furthermore, you have already proven yourself crazy in your refusal to court Izuku."

"It is morally, emotionally and legally wrong for me to engage in any sort of romantic relationship with a student twelve years my junior." said Shotaka, scrubbing her hands diligently with soap.

"Try telling that to some of the people reading this conversation." said Valentine.

Shotaka froze.

"Say again?" she said, before realizing Funny had disappeared. She groaned and rinsed her hands, making a mental note to speak with Midoriya about possible side effects of his Quirk.

Funny watched her from the reflection of the other woman's eye, and smiled. She would come around. She would have to be a fool not to.

"Isn't that right, dear reader?" he asked, before disappearing.


	21. No Masters, No Servants

"We must be wary."

Blackmore's words were spoken in a hushed voice, breaking the silence that had existed between himself and Tsuburaba for the last minute or so. Neither was entirely comfortable with the other yet, though Blackmore no longer thought of Tsuburaba as a stranger. No, he was more an ally, perhaps of convenience but an ally nonetheless. Tsuburaba, meanwhile, was simply happy to be properly acknowledged by his partner at all.

"Yeah..." he agreed, rubbing his head while staring at the screen, watching the replay of Midoriya and Ibara wiping the floor with their competition. "I mean... how do you figure we should counter that? It'll be rough as hell..."

"We must be swift." Blackmore replied. "And prevent the two from joining their strengths. If you can produce a barrier of sufficient size to separate them, we should be able to assail them one at a time. Master Midoriya first, then Miss Shiozaki. I respect her ability... but she does not possess D4C."

"That's probably a good plan." Tsuburaba agreed. "You blitz Shiozaki with your liquid form and get up close. She's awesome with her vines, but up close... she's not that tough. I know that much. And I'll take Midoriya... any ideas?"

"Remove your shirt." Blackmore replied. "The less surfaces he has to work with, the better. He... aspects of old injuries still linger on his body, regardless of how many dimensional shifts he performs. Ghosts of old wounds, you understand. His right arm has not yet fully mended from his efforts at the USJ. It is hard to note, but right above the elbow... strike there, and he will be unable to retaliate for some time."

"So I've gotta beat him bit by bit..." Tsuburaba bit his thumb as he pondered. "Alright... I know how his Quirk works. I think I can counter him; I just need to keep my barriers far enough apart to deny him his warping. After that... well, I guess it'll be a slug fest."

Blackmore said nothing, looking back to the screen. Bakugou's battle had been interesting to observe; it was obvious the boy's volatile nature had been tempered somewhat by the sobering reality of Todoroki's hospitalization. He doubted even someone as openly hostile and arrogant as Bakugou would simply shake something like that off. He did wonder what the fallout of such a situation would be. Heroes in training were expected to give every exercise their all, and even beyond it. Plus Ultra, he reminded himself.

And yet... had Bakugou not gone beyond? He had won a combat exercise by utterly defeating his foe, after a hard fought brawl. He had exceeded his limits from before, using an attack more powerful than anybody had expected. Nobody had cheered, however. Nobody how been excited by his victory, nobody had congratulated him for his 'Plus Ultra' behaviour.

Perhaps the sobering reality of how dangerous a boy like Bakugou could be was forcing them to consider their world differently.

Blackmore touched a finger to his chin, humming as he pondered. Tsuburaba watch, cocking his head to one side and saying nothing. Bakugou's brutal defeat of the general education student made him wince; that was one hell of a sucker punch. And the look on his face when he made whatever declaration it was he challenged the same student's assertions of villainy...

Well, Tsuburaba didn't want to say it, but it was downright... villainous.

He didn't know it yet, but there was another locked in the same thought. Though where Tsuburaba was concerned by the idea, the other was far more excited. Dry skin stretched in a hideous rictus grin as Shigaraki Tomura stared up at the screen mounted on the wall. His hands were making a mess of the flesh on the sides of his neck, his red eyes narrowed with manic glee. Beside him, Kurogiri considered perhaps asking the boy to stop, before he could frighten away any potential guests. Then Kurogiri recalled the bar never had guests, and so he stopped himself.

"I want that one." Shigaraki declared, pointing a twitching finger at the TV, a touch of blood under one nail. "I want him. He'd be PERFECT. A nice mobile DPS to round out our party, even if we need a new tank… and he already looks ready to kill."

Shigaraki licked his lips in delight.

"Kurogiri, send a message." he said. "Tell Giran I want to know everything about that kid. EVERYTHING."

"Yes, Shigaraki Tomura." Kurogiri nodded, though due to his being a humanoid form made of purple mist it was quite difficult to tell.

Ironic, perhaps, that the only one not thinking of Bakugou's fight was the one perhaps considerable as the closest to him. Izuku Midoriya, sat with his hands folded and his head bowed, was deep in thought. But he didn't spare a single one for Bakugou; his concerns lay with Blackmore, and the coming battle mere minutes away. There was an intermission on, a few minutes of respite before the storm could begin and the people of Japan could see reluctant master and self-determined servant match fists and wits.

"He'll come for me first." he said aloud, startling Ibara Shiozaki a touch when his eyes opened and his head came up. "It is as inevitable as the tide. He feels a pained urge to prove himself to me, thinking he is somehow lacking."

"He will ignore me." Ibara replied. "Shall I let you two have it out, then, or should I intervene?"

"No." Izuku shook his head. "Don't let him challenge me first. Pressure him, challenge him, make him focus on you. Tsuburaba and I will battle first. He has done well to get this far, far better than I originally expected when I chose him. He deserves this, at least."

Ibara nodded and looked up at the television, now playing footage of Present Mic live from the announcer's booth, with Eraserhead sitting beside him looking like she'd rather be anywhere else at the moment. Present Mic was opining on the potential results of the tournament, and though his answers were as impartial and unbiased as they could be, he did seem to favour her and Izuku to win.

Izuku, she pondered. When had she started using his first name? When had she begun to consider him more than just an associate.

"Likely when you fell in love with his manservant and joined him on the field of battle." spoke a voice in her ear, which made her jolt and look that way. All she could see was another empty chair, and the wall. Izuku paid her no mind, too busy thinking; or perhaps dozing off. It was hard to say.

"Who…" she said aloud, before she heard the same voice shushing her.

"Do refrain from panicking; it's an already tenuous grip I've got on this reflection, and I'm uncertain how long I can keep this up for." said the voice again, in a strange accent that reminded her of Blackmore, and of Pony Tsutonori, her American classmate.

"I am American," said the voice, apparently replying to her thoughts. "As a matter of fact, I was once the president of the place. No longer, I'm afraid; being technically dead is often the end of one's political career. These days I spend most of my time mentoring your partner, who also happens to be something of an apprentice to me"

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to explain yourself further?" she asked, voice hushed as to not disturb Izuku in his meditation. "Or am I expected to know you already?"

"You may." replied the voice. "I am not of this world. My name is Funny Valentine, twenty-third president of the United States of America, though apparently in this reality I was replaced with one Benjamin Harrison. Unfortunate for the state of the union, I'm sure."

"What do you want?" Ibara, glanced around the room to try and find the 'reflection' he had mentioned. "Am I to suppose you're going to offer me a deal of some sort?"

"While your supposition wouldn't normally be false, I'm afraid in this case you are incorrect." said Funny. "I simply wish to address your misgivings involving my former manservant."

Suddenly, it all clicked with Ibara. Other dimensions, alternate realities, manservants and presidents…

"You are Blackmore's former master." she said.

"His first." Funny agreed. "He died in my service, loyal to the last. But I feel you won't believe me; not unless you can see firsthand what brought him to me, and why I chose him. So before you cast judgement upon me… allow me to illuminate you. Regardless of what you may believe about our past, I am not the villain of that particular tale."

Ibara considered his words, placing a hand under her chin as he spoke and leaning against it. She had little reason to doubt him, and an equal amount of reasons to believe him. But she was stricken by a sense of familiarity in his voice, his cadence, the way he articulated himself. Ibara glanced at Izuku, who was himself still locked in thought, eyes shut and head bowed. It looked for a moment as though he were praying, though Ibara doubted that particular theory. No… gauging by his even breathing and his total lack of movement, he was either meditating or asleep.

He looked so different at rest; his features seemed to soften a touch, his expression a little less severe, his posture a little less rigid. This was Izuku Midoriya with his defenses down, his guard lowered and his true self shown. A boy, a little younger than her by a matter of months, who seemed so powerful, so driven, and yet now seemed so vulnerable. She pressed a soft hand to his head, fingers sinking into the soft green of his hair right above the point where he had tied it back, and she closed her eyes.

This was not the manner of one who would drive someone like Blackmore to such manic servitude, not when the boy beside her was so clearly reluctant to call himself a master of anything.

"Very well." she said. "Tonight. When I lay down to sleep, show me the truth."

The voice chuckled, before disappearing. She waited a moment, before standing up, one of her vines reaching over to tap her partner on the shoulder. Izuku jolted, looking up at her. She nodded, offering him a hand, and he took it. When they were both standing, she smiled at him.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"More than I was before." Izuku replied. "Shall we go?"

The two walked out side by side, Izuku's hands folded behind his back and hers in front. He kept his head upright, hers was slightly bowed in a last moment prayer, before it rose as they entered the stadium. Ibara saw Blackmore and Tsuburaba, already waiting, the former staring at his mask in his hand and the latter with his arms crossed, a grin on his face. He raised a hand to greet her, a wave she returned.

The crowd was humming with anticipation, perhaps of another quick victory, or perhaps of a greater battle. Izuku waved at them, and the hum rose to a cheer for a long moment. He smiled; he was already known, already loved. He had made it, from Quirkless worthless Deku to hero student, now rising to some form of celebrity. He was no fool; Mina had showed him on her phone how his victories were blowing up across the internet, clips of his near instant win of the race and his resultant 'shenanigans' the topic of much debate and discussion. It was exhilarating.

'_They know your name,' _said Valentine. '_Now ensure they remember you. Implant yourselves into their conscious so that they might think of you when trouble comes. If you will become Symbol of Peace, the pillar that replaces your teacher, you must become as beloved as he is. When in danger, people must ask themselves, 'What would Izuku Midoriya do?' and come to the correct conclusion."_

Izuku said nothing. There was nothing to be said. He climbed atop the cement platform that was the arena, freshly resurfaced after all the damage done to it by the various battles. He stood across from Tsuburaba, who was himself standing with his top unzipped, likely ready to drop it the moment he saw Izuku brace for using D4C. Clever; the less surfaces he gave Izuku to work with, the better.

Then Izuku looked to Blackmore, who was still staring down at his mask.

"Blackmore." he said. "An order."

"A request in return, sir." said Blackmore, looking up at him.

"Very well." Izuku smiled, looking at the crowd. "We've done well so far, you and I. They know our names now."

"Yours is a name that should be on every tongue, sir." Blackmore nodded.

"My order is simple." Izuku looked his friend, servant and enemy in the eye.

"Hold nothing back." he ordered.

Blackmore smiled, a rare sight indeed, and bowed his head.

"Such was my request, sir." he replied.

Izuku smiled back, before dropping his stance, surrounding himself in D4C. He had yet to use One For All, his fallback and ace in the hole, as of yet. But he believed that if there were a battle it would become necessary to embrace every aspect of his power, these gifts he had been given and entrusted with, it would be this one.

"Let's have a good match!" said Tsuburaba, before taking a deep breath.

"May we each give our all." said Ibara, her vines flaring as she readied herself.

"No holding back." said Izuku, rolling his shoulders.

"And to the best, go the victory." said Blackmore, placing his mask back on his face.

Midnight said nothing, for there was nothing she could say at the sight of such youthful energy. She just grinned a grin that would have been prime material for many magazine covers worldwide, before raising her crop high. Each participant tensed.

The crop came down. A crack sounded out across the whole of the arena.

And the battle began.

Immediately Tsuburaba was on the move. He blew a platform into existence, just big enough for one foot, and stepped on it, before blowing a second into reality. Then another, then another, rising up as he climbed an invisible staircase to get the high ground on Midoriya. He needed surfaces that were too small and too far apart for the other boy to use his Quirk with, but big enough to stand on. Izuku watched him run on air, and grinned.

Blackmore blitzed right for his master, taking on his liquid form and propelling himself through the air, before a wall of vegetation rose before him and prevented him from moving any closer. He veered upwards, only to realise the vines were climbing over, following his motions. He grunted with a throat that was mostly liquid and reformed, diving to one side to instantly change his momentum.

The vines continued to block him off. He growled, before shooting straight up, forcing his liquid form between the gaps of the vines and reaching for more and more altitude. The vines chased, a little slower than him but still able to keep up, mere feet from his backside. Alright, he decided, time for a second plan.

He dove toward Tsuburaba, who grinned when he saw the bizarre chase and began to blow. Izuku, who had no way of reaching the other student now twenty feet in the air, watched as he blew something very large into existence right as Blackmore charged past. Ibara's vines slammed into the invisible surface, unable to penetrate it, and Blackmore spun around and lunged for their mistress.

"Clever…" Izuku noted, as Ibara pulled her vines back and began to pull them towards herself. He, meanwhile, gauged distance and did something rather stupid; he tore off his top (ignoring the camera flashes that suddenly began filling the stadium at the sight of his muscular figure) and punched his hand into it.

D4C triggered, and his fist emerged between Tsuburba's back and his sports uniform top, slamming into his back. The boy staggered at the sudden impact, twisting around, and Izuku pulled his hand back out of his jacket, before reaching into it with a grasping hand that emerged inside the boy's pant-leg, grabbing his ankle. Tsuburaba pulled away in a panic, coming to the edge of his platform.

Izuku pulled his hand free again, before throwing his top back over his shoulders, tying the sleeves together so it was easy to pull off before channeling One For All into his little toe on his right foot. This would cost him a shoe, but it would be worth it. Besides, he could always swap out between matches. That was already the plan.

He jumped. His toe practically exploded, but at this point the pain was an old friend. The front of his trainer was also demolished, but he did blast himself skyward, right behind Tsuburaba. He brought a hand up, ready to chop the boy across the back of the neck while their altitudes matched, but the boy seemed to hear the sound of his toe exploding (not to mention the sound of the crowd bursting into an anticipatory roar) and twisted, blocking his attack. Izuku grabbed his forearm instead, pulling himself onto the platform.

Tsuburaba twisted, throwing him back a bit, and the two took a moment to breathe. Tsuburaba narrowed his eyes, his breathing heavier than before, but that eager grin was still present and accounted for.

"Your powers are crazy, man." he said, making Izuku smile despite himself. "Warping AND crazy strength? No wonder you made it this far…"

"You're no slouch yourself." Izuku replied. "Trying to trick me into talking so you can catch your breath for your Quirk?"

Tsuburaba shrugged.

"It was worth a shot." he said, before raising one foot. "But I do have a plan B."

He stomped down, and the platform, deliberately made nice and fragile, broke instantly. Izuku had a millisecond to think as he began to drop about twenty feet to the ground below. Tsuburaba blew a sloped surface into existence to slide down, but he would have to stick the landing, or convert it into a roll.

A pair of vines wrapped around his torso before he could do anything, and lowered him to the ground. Izuku looked over at Ibara for a moment, who was still locked in a fight with Blackmore. Impressive multi-tasking, he considered. But then he heard Tsuburaba clearly blow something into creation, and he turned in time to see the boy throw… nothing?

Then something that felt about as hard as a baseball slammed into his chest, and he coughed.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Tsuburaba grinned, before blowing into his cupped hands again.

So, he could shape his creations, and even give them mass of a sort. Very interesting; his Quirk seemed to defy several physical laws. That was fine, however; so did Izuku's, who rubbed his chest, before Tsuburaba threw again. He dodged to one side, only to realise he had been baited when Tsuburaba threw with his other hand, and one of those air-balls hit his shoulder, making him grunt in pain.

Invisible thrown projectiles and platforms only their creator could really understand. He had sorely underestimated a boy who could use air as a weapon, clearly. Tsuburaba began to blow another ball into existence, giving Izuku moments to think. He could try and sprint the distance between them, but a headshot with one of those balls would be incredibly debilitating at the very least. He could keep trying to dodge, or call for backup from Ibara, but the former had already failed and the latter seemed rather busy trying to keep up with Blackmore's withering fusillade of attacks.

Choice D, then: Teleportation bullshit.

Izuku pulled off his top and dropped it on his head, sorely hoping this worked.

Tsuburaba felt something pressing against his back as Izuku disappeared and panicked, lunging forward. This only aided Izuku in emerging from the space between his back and top, twisting away and landing on his back. Izuku rose quickly, as Tsuburaba brought one hand down in an attempt to knock him out before he could accomplish much of anything.

Izuku caught his hand in one of his own. Tsuburaba was clever with his own Quirk, but Izuku and Blackmore had been sparring for weeks leading up to this event. Compared to Blackmore, who was a trained killer of men, Tsuburaba was slow, his attacks clumsy. Izuku pulled him forward, exploiting the fact he was putting most of his weight behind the punch, and grabbed him by the forehead.

Tsuburaba felt himself hit the cement, on his back, before he felt a sharp impact on his forehead and dropped into the inky black sea of unconsciousness. Izuku stood up from his limp form, heaving breaths filling his lungs.

Blackmore solidified again, just in time to bring his foot across in a savage kick that knocked Ibara off her feet. Just as Tsuburaba had promised; once he finally made his way past her defenses, surpassing her vines, she was fragile. One hit brought her down, though as his chest heaved and he placed a finger in his painfully dry mouth, he acknowledged it had been a hit he had needed to fight tooth and nail just to deliver.

He turned, seeing his master also catching his breath while standing over the downed form of his own partner. Both of them stared for a long moment, before Blackmore bowed his head.

"It is time, sir." he said, voice rasping.

"It is." Izuku agreed, bringing his hands up. "Are you ready?"

Blackmore said nothing, switching back to his liquid form and coursing through the air, moving toward Izuku. He needed to strike fast, before Izuku could devise a strategy.

But Izuku had no intention of using a strategy. Blackmore was ragged, on the brink of collapse. He would end this quickly, with a single blow. He brought his fist up, readying for a punch, channeling One For All into the limb. He could feel All Might's eyes on him, somewhere up in the stands. As the bare flesh glowed with those peculiar red and white lines, as he felt the power of the seven holders before him charge up his body with their combined might, he closed his eyes for just a moment.

'_One For All and D4C.' _said Valentine in his mind. '_They are together in you. They must be named.'_

Blackmore materialized, fist coming down in a brutal haymaker. Both boys had eschewed subtlety; it was a contest of strength now. Blackmore's strength of training and of the momentum his speed lent him, against the strength Izuku had been chosen to inherit. Blackmore's eyes behind the mask went wide when he saw those savage lines of light all across his master's arm.

"A name." Izuku grunted. "Fine then."

Green and purple lightning wreathed his form as the two powers began to combine, D4C's silhouette shifting and changing as it formed around his body. He felt their union, earned in this crucible, their fusion. They weren't together yet, but this battle had brought them closer.

"THUNDERSTRUCK." declared Izuku, and his fist came forward, a gale storm force following.

Blackmore's eyes closed as he felt the overwhelming force throwing him backwards, his body thrown back, out of the ring, slamming into the ground and skidding across the grass. He could hear his first master's voice in his head.

'_You have done well,' _said an echo of Funny Valentine. '_Thank you for your service, Blackmore. Now you must forget me. Izuku will lead you now. Give him everything you gave me.'_

"I will." Blackmore whispered. "Thank you, Valentine, sir."

The black mercy of unconsciousness swallowed him a moment later.

In the stadium, Izuku stared down at his arm with wide eyes. It wasn't broken. It wasn't even bruised. He had just used one-hundred percent of One For All, and nothing had snapped.

'_Not One for All.' _Valentine reminded him. '_Thunderstruck. YOUR power.'_

Izuku stared at his hand, slowly flexing it, before raising it to the sky. The crowd exploded, cheers and hoots and howls filling the air with even greater volume than before. Present Mic screamed out his own wild cheer, his excitement practically tangible. Izuku lowered his arm and walked toward Ibara, squatting down to pick her up, taking care not to jostle her head and support it with his arm. She didn't even stir, out cold from Blackmore's kick.

"My power." Izuku, looking to the unconscious Tsuburaba behind him, the unconscious Ibara in his arms, the unconscious Blackmore out in the field. He smiled.

"Thank you." he told them, speaking aloud. "Thank you for all of this."

The screens above caught his attention, showing the final bracket. Himself and Ibara facing…

"Kaachan." Izuku said, his first time uttering that name in a long time.

One last test, then. But it didn't matter. He began walking Ibara toward the nurse's office, following the automated stretchers already carting off Blackmore and Tsuburaba. One last test. One final fight.

"_Shitty Deku." _said Kaachan in his mind. "_Powerless, worthless, Quirkless. What the fuck do you even think you're doing here. No power of your own, no strength of your own."_

Izuku bowed his head.

"You're wrong." he told Bakugou, told himself, told the world. "This is my strength now. My power."

Purple and green sparks began falling from his skin like rain. Ibara didn't react when they touched her, and Izuku smiled in defiance as he turned around, looking up at all the cameras watching him as he spoke.

"My Thunderstruck."

Above, in the announcer's booth, Shotaka Aizawa shuddered, a strange sensation running down her spine. Present Mic, taking a moment to catch his breath, looked over at her and blinked twice.

"Hey… uh… have you always had highlights?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

"What?" Shotaka asked, before looking at herself in his mirrored sunglasses he was wearing indoors for some reason. She blinked twice, matching her friend.

In her mess of uncombed black hair, she could see a distinct stripe of green.

In an apartment building in downtown Musutafu, Narancia Girgha and Okuyasu Nijimura both jolted at the same time, startling the small girl between them, who looked at each of them and giggled suddenly, pointing at their heads.

"Green!" she proclaimed, leaving the two confused before they noticed the single stripe of green in the other's hair.

And in a public bathroom at the same Sports Festival where Izuku Midoriya had just blown away the audience (almost literally) in a single punch, Ringo Roadagain inspected the verdant stripe in his white hair, cocking his head to one side.

"Well now," he said. "Ain't that a curious thing."

**AN:**

**Izuku's weird AFO/D4C fusion has a name now. I thought pretty hard about it, actually, before realizing it was sitting right in front of me the whole time and rolling my eyes even harder. **

**Hopefully this fight was worth the wait. I was surprisingly busy the past week, so most of this was written the same day I'm posting, while Rise by The Glitch Mob and The Word Live blasted in my ear. With any luck of managed to capture some of the raw energy that song pumps into my veins. **

**In any regard, that's the Blackmore/Izuku fight done. I'm a little disappointed this wasn't a nice even chapter number, like twenty, but that's just not how things worked out. Welp, here it is! Be sure to tune in next time when we have the matchup I'm pretty sure everybody's been waiting for since this story started:**

**Deku vs Kaachan.**

****Hope you all enjoyed! ****


	22. A Moment to Breathe

"She isn't going to wake up in time."

Izuku sighed at the news he had feared, standing over Ibara Shiozaki's inert form on the gurney with his hands folded behind his back and his head bowed. Beside him stood Recovery Girl, a tiny old woman he knew hit harder than Bakugou when she was angry and had her cane on hand. She touched a hand to his arm, and he looked down at her to see she was shaking her head.

"You're going to have to take this match on your own… or forfeit." she said, and Izuku closed his eyes.

"I won't step down now." he said, before looking back to Ibara, slumbering with only the faintest hint of the bruise Blackmore had given her to show why. "She deserves to be at my side, but if she can't… then I'll stand in her stead."

"That Bakugou boy is out for blood today." Recovery Girl warned, and Izuku smiled despite himself, a sad little grin.

"Isn't he always?" he asked, before looking over at Blackmore. "What about Raymond?'

"He'll be fine, deary." said Recovery Girl. "He passed out from the impact with the ground, but exhaustion played a big part, and dehydration. I've got him on a drip for now, and when he wakes up he and I will have a nice long talk about the limits of the human body and its innate liquid reserves. Speaking of limits…"

She eyed his arm, and he smiled, raising it to her eyes. Not so much as a scratch, though his shoulder was bruised from Tsuburaba's cannon of a throwing arm. The fact Thunderstruck hadn't broken his arm still shocked him, to be totally honest.

"Whatever happened with One For All… Thunderstruck seems to be different." he admitted. "No damage this time, even though I gave that punch my all."

"That wasn't a one-hundred percent punch, then." said Recovery Girl, shaking her head. "No… gauging from the lack of damage and the fact we didn't have to scrape young Blackmore off the arena walls with a chisel… I'm going to guess your body limited the amount of power you could access."

Izuku looked down at his arm.

"Valentine?" he asked, before glancing at a mirror positioned beside Recovery Girl's desk.

His otherworldly mentor appeared in the reflection, giving Recovery Girl quite the start. Evidently he had chosen to reveal himself to both of them then. Useful; now he could explain what had just happened, if he knew. The man stood tall and proud, hands folded behind his back in the same stance Izuku had been both consciously and unconsciously mimicking for weeks now. He smiled at the two.

"_I am not wholly sure." _said Valentine, instantly destroying Izuku's hopes. "_I simply sensed D4C and One For All's merging. I am not sure what Thunderstruck- wonderful name, by the way- can do. It is obvious it creates some kind of electric field, and it seems to possess a measure of One For All's strength enhancement."_

"I already tested warping again." Izuku added, looking at Recovery Girl. "It still works the same, though it feels different now. Like I'm… I don't know, taking longer steps? I feel like I could warp further, I guess."

"So it really is something new…" Recovery Girl nodded as she looked at Valentine, then at Izuku. "Unfortunate you had to figure this all out minutes before the final match."

"I can't think of a better time, actually." Izuku said, before looking at the television on the wall behind her, facing the gurneys. There was his face, and Kaachan's, as Present Mic announced once again that they would be the final contestants along with their partners, Ibara and Kinoko's faces coming up next.

"_You wish to show that uncough brat that you are more than his equal." _Valentine correctly guessed, though his choice of words gave Izuku pause. "_And with this new power, this power that is yours and yours alone…"_

"I can do just that." Izuku agreed, nodding. "I can show Kaachan… Bakugou, that I'm not just some worthless Deku."

Recovery Girl, forgotten by the boy… no, young man before her, nodded once. So this wasn't just about the festival. This seemed to be a much bigger deal than she had first supposed, a confrontation that seemed to be years in the making. She smiled in spite of herself; perhaps if these two could find closure, then they could become the heroes she and every other teacher in the school knew they could be.

Her smile was knocked from her face when her office door was thrown open, Shotaka Aizawa striding inside and grabbing Izuku by the shoulders. She stared him in the eyes for a moment, before reaching up to her head and grabbing several strands of her own hair, presenting them to Izuku. Her own hair… but green, it seemed.

"Expain." she commanded, before she heard a familiar laugh from one side and twisted to see the blonde figure from before smiling at her.

"_I told you." _Valentine said, before disappearing.

"Told you what?" Izuku asked.

Shotaka shook her head.

"It isn't important." she replied, though she heard that wretched laugh again and wanted to curse. "What is important is THIS."

She gestured to the stripe of green in her otherwise pure black hair, making Izuku cock his head to one side and blink twice. Great. So he didn't know. Or he did and was playing coy with her… she groaned aloud.

"You don't know." she guessed, and he nodded. "Great."

"Maybe it has something to do with Thunderstruck?" he asked, and she looked back at him.

"Thunder-what?"

Izuku sighed, and began to explain. He didn't need to lie about One For All to Shotaka; she was here because of D4C. The two of them knew much more about each other than was perhaps comfortable, the history of One For All (at least, the parts Izuku knew and remembered) being one of those many things. It had given All Might a reason to stop worrying about his secret so much, at least; he didn't have to hide the truth from his homeroom teacher, meaning lessons were easier. Or… they had been. Now Izuku had a whole new Quirk to practice with.

Once his explanation was over, Shotaka groaned, obviously tired of the bizarre nature of this world. He felt for her, but try as he might Izuku had no real way to find her reality again. Searching specific dimensions was difficult enough, but realities he had already visited seemed to be nearly impossible to tap back into. Add to that the fact that this particular Izuku had never actually interacted with the Izuku from Shotaka's reality (being number twenty-three, while Shotaka's Izuku was Izuku number twenty) and had no links to it… well, it was challenging, to say the least.

"So… what's your plan for the final round?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. "Without a partner… taking Bakugou and Komori on by yourself will be a hell of a fight."

"That's why I'm not going to fight alone." Izuku replied, smiling. "I have a plan, Sensei. I need your permission to go through with it, though. I don't think there's a ruling for this, you see, and I don't want to step on any toes…"

"I doubt you can come up with anything Nezu hasn't written a rule for, but go ahead and try me." Shotaka replied, as the shadow of a smile crossed her face. "What's your plan?"

Izuku told her. She listened, blinked twice (a common occurrence for those who spent too much time around Izuku Midoriya) and then stared at him for a moment. Then she blinked again, and nodded, uncertain if it was the correct answer to give. Regardless… it was the only one she could think of.

Izuku smiled back.

"Perfect!" he said. "Now, I have fifteen minutes, right?"

"Twenty." Shotaka managed to say.

"Even better!" he replied, before ducking past her. "I'll be on the field then, Sensei, I promise!"

Shotaka just watched him go, numb to the world for a little while, before that same smile-shadow crossed her face again.

She could hardly wait to see what came next.

**AN:**

**Just a short chapter today, something to bridge the gap before we get into the big slugfest next chapter. I know what's coming, you all know what's coming, people who haven't even read this fic know what's coming. The big one. The fight you've all been waiting for since I kinda sorta maybe skipped the first iteration. The fight almost every tournament arc rewrite is legally required to have.**

**That's right, ladies and gentlemen; next chapter, you're gonna get Katsuki vs Izuku. Bakugou vs Midoriya. **

**Kaachan.**

**Versus.**

**Deku.**

**Oh, and Kinoko will be there too. And… well, a couple faces familiar to some of you, I believe, though others will be confused. Don't worry about that. Explanations will be given. Liberties will be taken. Bones will be broken. Old grudges reawoken. And there will be EXPLOSIONS and PUNCHES and YELLING for EVERYBODY.**

**See you in the next one, folks. **


	23. My Hero, My Villain, My Friend

Katsuki Bakugou cracked his neck, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. He was standing on the cement platform where he had already found two victories earlier in the day, though neither were in any way satisfying. He looked up at the afternoon sun, which was only just beginning to exit its zenith and drop down toward the horizon. It was about two, he figured, maybe a little earlier. Plenty of time to kick some ass, find something that would make this shitty festival worth showing up for.

"A-are you ready?" asked Kinoko Komori, drawing a scoff from Katsuki.

"How the fuck could I not be?" he answered the question with a question, giving few to no fucks about the technical impoliteness of such a practice. "This is Deku we're talking about. No matter how many ass-pull powerups he gets, he's still the same nerd who sleeps with an All Might plushy."

Kinoko looked at him, almost disappointed. Hold the fuck up, he told himself, when the fuck had she become anything more than 'shroom head' to him? She was still just some shitty extra, same as Deku and the headcase and dictionary, same as icy-hot and… alright, that Tororo had balls, he could give him that. Needed some practice… alright, a lot of practice, but that went for everybody. Even him. Natural talent could only go so far. Pretty goddamn far, as far as he was concerned, but still… there were limits.

"Would it really be that hard for you to actually take one of our fights seriously?" Shroom-head asked him, glancing over.

Katsuki scoffed again, before pointing up at the screen.

"He's already late." he replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's trying to come up with a plan to-"

The sudden sound of laughter cut him off, right before he could finish his sentence. He looked all around the arena, where the general hubbub had died down as Present Mic lost his mind on a live microphone. Then they went totally silent, all staring down into the arena, as multiple figures clad in UA phys-ed uniforms dropped down from the stands, forming a circle around the arena.

Each of them looked familiar, and Katsuki stared and began counting. One Deku, two Deku, three Deku, four… five Deku, six Deku, seven Deku, more… his eyes went wide. The archway opposite him was illuminated by a green light moving down the corridor, and yet another Deku walked out, his top unzipped and hanging open, flanked by two more Dekus. The one on the left was tiny and drowsy, looking like he was about two seconds from falling asleep. The other was much taller and built like the metaphorical brick shithouse. He looked older too, at least eighteen. The Deku in the middle… there was a familiar face.

Katsuki had always been convinced something was up with Deku after the USJ incident. Nobody just grew two inches in height and six in hair length because of a villain. And a villain with a Quirk that had turned Aizawa into a girl? Bullshit. Nobody had told him or 1-A jack shit, but something had happened, something big. But this Deku… everything was much more familiar. The same messy green hair, the same verdant eyes, the same lack of height. But… something was up. Deku… Deku didn't grin like that. Deku didn't have that look of confidence in his expression. Deku didn't stand upright with his arms wide, basking in the cheers and shouts of the crowd.

"WHAT IS THIS?" asked Present Mic, voice booming through the speakers. "IT LOOKS LIKE IZUKU MIDORIYA WON'T BE COMPETING ALONE AFTER ALL! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT SEEMS THAT QUIRK OF HIS IS EVEN MORE POWERFUL THAN WE SUSPECTED!"

Each Deku was a little different, but that Deku in the middle… that was familiar. That made sense. The Dekus ringing the arena all stayed where they were, but the three from the archway, they continued to approach. All three walked up the steps, over the white line, and into the ring. The Deku in the middle, the Deku he thought he knew… he SMIRKED at Katsuki.

"Are you ready for this, Kacchan?" he asked.

Katsuki looked all around, before his expression twisted into a glare that could burn holes in concrete, directed straight at Deku. Not any of these weird, wrong Dekus; the one in the middle, the one he just fucking KNEW was HIS Deku.

"The fuck is this, Deku?" he growled.

"Thunderstruck, Kacchan." Izuku said, raising one fist crackling with green and purple lightning. "MY power."

"Bullshit." Katsuki spat.

"You're right, he doesn't change much as a boy," said the tall Deku, the one built like some kind of Greek statue.

"The fuck did you just say?" Katsuki growled, glaring up at the taller one.

"Nothing of importance." said Deku, the real Deku, shaking his head. "These two are my partners. Kacchan, meet Izuku Midoriya, and Izuku Midoriya."

Silence reigned for a long moment, before Deku chuckled.

"Bad joke, sorry." he admitted, before gesturing to the tiny, sleepy Deku to his left. "Both of them were born with Quirks. One knows you as a friend, the other…"

Deku looked up at big Deku, who shrugged.

"As a girl." he admitted. "Gotta admit, this is still really weird."

Smaller Deku was staring at Katsuki, blinking blearily and cocking his head to one side.

"Why… why is Kacchan saying bad words again?" he asked, voice a sleepy murmur. "Kacchan's momma'll be mad… and then she'll start saying bad words too…"

Katsuki stared at small Deku, narrowing his eyes for a second. What the fuck was he on about? Bad words? Katsuki always swore; it was a useful way of getting across how fucking serious you were being, without resorting to talking like a boring loser all the time. True, he'd have to reign it in for his hero work, at least publically, but he wasn't going to coddle the public and pretend like he was some soap-in-mouth good boy who would never cuss ever. What fresh hell was this Deku from?

"These two are my teammates for this little brawl of ours." Deku said, nodding. "The others… well, they're here to watch, and because I kind of maybe sort of dragged them all back with me while I was looking for these two…"

He suddenly looked much more like the Deku Katsuki knew, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face, staring down at the floor and mumbling. Both other Dekus were staring at him, the big one with a look of revelation and the smaller one with a dozy little smile.

"So I DO sound like a crazy person!" said big Deku, putting a hand under his chin.

"Anyhow…" Deku shook his head and looked back up. "That's the deal. I checked with Aizawa-sensei; this is technically legal, since there aren't any rules about it."

Somewhere, Nezu was grinning at being outsmarted, Izuku was sure. He'd only be able to do this today; next year, there'd be a rule. Hell, there'd probably be an official rule about using alternate-dimension copies of yourself to bypass the rule about one-on-one/two-on-two combat by tomorrow morning, if he was being honest. But if self-cloning Quirks could get away with it… so too could he. For now, at least.

"So are you admitting you can't fight me one on one then?" asked Katsuki, glaring at him. "You need these bullshit ass-pull powers to fight me?"

"My power is no more of a bullshit ass-pull than yours, Kacchan." Izuku retorted suddenly, possibly his first time swearing in Katsuki's company. "You were born with the ability to sweat nitroglycerin. You don't get to play the 'bullshit' card here. Get over yourself."

The vitriol in Deku's voice, the way he spat each syllable like it was poison in his mouth… that didn't feel anything like the Deku Katsuki knew. He blinked twice, before nodding, for once in his life at a loss for words.

"But if you're so insistent…" Deku turned to big Deku, then small Deku, giving each a nod. The former gave him a thumbs-up, the latter turning around and staggering away, half-asleep on his feet. "Then I'll do this your way."

Katsuki froze when those green eyes turned back on him. There was weight there, power, conviction… where the fuck was it coming from? Where the fuck was the weepy little loser he had so freely bullied in the past? Where was fucking Deku, and what had this guy done with him?

"Are you… are you all done?" asked a hesitant voice from the side, Kinoko Komori taking a tentative step forward. "A-are we g-gonna go now?"

"I'm ready." said Deku, now standing alone. "I apologize for what is coming."

"I'm gonna kick your ass." Katsuki declared.

"Then…" Midnight, who had been staring at the ensemble cast of Izuku Midoriya's and perhaps spending a little too long staring at the tall and handsome one, shook her head free of fantasies. "Umm… wait for Mic to call it."

"ARE YOU READY?" asked Present Mic, half to the audience and half to the contestants.

The former screamed and cheered. The latter nodded, all three of them.

"THEN LET'S GET THIS FINAL BOUT STARTED!" Present Mic screamed. "FIGHT!"

Deku lunged. Katsuki lunged. Kinoko stepped back and unleashed a wave of spores. Deku flicked a finger and a gust of wind blew them all away, right back towards their creator, who coughed when they flew back into her face, waving her hands and trying to keep them out of her eyes and throat. Katsuki's first explosion missed. His second, a quick blast at Deku's exposed side, didn't, and he managed to knock his opponent off balance.

Deku rolled, rising to his feet and sidestepping Katsuki's second big explosion, countering it with another flick that neutralized some of the force. Katsuki swore, diving forward with his right hand outstretched, crackling with explosive potential.

Izuku caught him by the wrist, the same way he had back in their first brawl during the training exercise. Katsuki knew this was going to happen, and so he used his left hand to blast himself back, pulling Deku off balance and delivering the intended explosion straight into his opponent's stomach.

The rest of the fight was like a series of snapshots in his mind, breaking down from blow to blow. Right hook, ducked, countered with a sucker punch packed with nitroglycerin. No dice, his fist disappears between the folds of Deku's open top and reappears somewhere else entirely. A retaliatory blast to the face, also dodged, before he takes a snap-kick to the temple for his troubles. Blast back to gain some distance, get flicked, almost lose his balance and have to blow an explosion behind himself to stay up and in the ring.

Another wave of fungal spores, a few mushrooms starting to grow on Deku's skin. A cough, a groan and a flex, muscles releasing too much power. The mushrooms demolished. Deku, halfway into a lunging punch. Deku, nailing Kinoko in the jaw with a hook he feinted a jab to land. Kinoko, getting thrown through the air. Katsuki, blasting toward her.

Catching her. Laying her down outside the bounds, away from the chaos. Deku, standing there. A scowl. A charge. Punches. Kicks. A headshot that knocks him off balance and on his back. A kick to the stomach. Another kick to the stomach. A third kick to the fucking stomach. Why is Deku screaming 'useless' at him as he lands the fourth kick? Who fucking knows. A fifth kick. Katsuki blasting out from under Deku and getting back on his feet.

Then… a moment of calm.

As an expectant crowd watched, Katsuki Bakugou pressed his right hand to his side, where there was at least one cracked rib he'd have to ignore for the next few minutes. Over a thousand people were witnessing him as he rose from his knees, the palm of his left hand crackling with tiny firecracker explosions. He had to cook off residual nitroglycerin before he could utilize a larger blast, after all. It was one of many subtle details about his Quirk nobody seemed to notice.

Deku noticed. Deku had noticed years ago, the same way Deku noticed EVERYTHING. Bakugou knew it was probably in one of those stupid goddamn notebooks, along with every other bit of minutia about his Quirk. Was that he was losing? A lack of information? Deku had been analyzing his Quirk for years, while he had been disregarding the boy as just another worthless extra. Was this his punishment for his arrogance?

Deku smiled, his arms spread wide and top hanging open. Fucker was panting, sweat dripping from his face and down his exposed chest (when the fuck had he gotten so ripped?), green hair plastered to his forehead. Both of them were a mess, Deku covered in little contact burns and a rather ferocious bruise all across his stomach from a sucker punch. Bakugou had his rib to contend with, a black eye, and a massive collection of bruises from Deku's rain of punches and kicks. Bastard had even learned some kind of rudimentary martial arts, it looked like, probably from that masked fucker he hung around with so much.

Bakugou rolled his shoulders, feeling the cartilage pop. He was running out of time; every explosion was a little more strain on his arms, a little more of that building ache that reached bone deep when it built up enough. Deku wasn't restrained by anything but his own stamina as far as Bakuogu could tell, unless this 'Thunderstruck' bullshit had some kind of hidden resource he was expending.

"Is this enough for you, Kacchan?" he asked, with that bizarre confidence that was nothing like the stuttering, stammering mess Bakugou had known for most of his life. "Is this the fight you wanted?"

Bakugou spat on the floor before cocking his head to one side, a scowl building. He pulled his right hand back from his side, a series of tiny blasts building there too. One big blast; the arena was bare. Empty. He spared a moment to glance at the mushroom girl, laying on the floor behind Deku, out of bounds. He had put her there, gentle as he could manage, and Deku hadn't taken the opportunity to knock him out as well.

"You're better, Deku, but that doesn't mean shit." Bakugou warned, his hands slick with the building nitroglycerin. "I'm going to blow you the fuck away!"

Deku closed his eyes for a moment. He was still smiling, a genuine expression of joy, of delight. He looked… fucking hell, he looked PROUD.

"Thank you for this, Kacchan." said Deku, before his eyes opened and he raised one fist, clenching it, that bizarre green lightning swarming around the lifted hand. "Thank you for finally giving me this."

Katsuki Bakugou was an asshole. He knew that. He was proud of it, because it meant he was different. He knew exactly who he was, what he wanted, what he was about. He had questioned a few things about himself lately, but this was much better. No shitty backstory making his opponent a whiny bitch, no fake masterminds playing at being puppet masters. Just two guys beating the absolute shit out of each other in front of a crowd that couldn't get enough of it. Bakugou LOVED IT.

Katsuki Bakugou was also reasonable. Sometimes. So his scowl slowly shifted to a grin, against his will and he stared Deku down with hands full of pending explosions, legs tensing and ready to run. His grin was a fearsome sight, he knew. But Deku smiled as well, his whole body slowly building that green lightning, and he cracked his neck to one side.

Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya were not friends. Not any more. Too much had happened.

"_If you really want a Quirk… take a dive off the roof!"_

"_I'm going to be a hero!"_

"_DIE!"_

"_Do be careful in the rain..."_

But they were two boys who were both aiming for the top. Two young men reaching for the glory, the responsibility of the number one hero's position. Both were fighters to the end, who would never surrender, never admit defeat, never take a single step back. They were warriors at heart.

So when Bakugou began corkscrewing through the air, and when Midoriya allowed Thunderstruck to interface with every minute gap in the arena, when the air itself was filled with smoke and lightning, when the roar of the crowd rose and didn't come back down, when Present Mic began screaming like a man possessed, when the world itself seemed to shake as two unstoppable forces were brought to collision with one another, when Izukus and Katsukis across all of multifaceted reality felt a collective chill run down their spines, the two of them KNEW.

They KNEW they were destined for more.

They KNEW they were going to do great things.

And most of all, they KNEW they were never going to be free of one another.

"HOWITZER IMPACT!"

Bakugou's voice was a roar that could be heard across the whole arena, through all the smoke and the noise, a declaration of coming devastation, even as he spun and spun with greater intensity, hands filled with enough explosives to demolish a skyscraper, aimed squarely at his opponent.

"HIGH VOLTAGE!"

Izuku's voice was a hundred at once, as ghostly tendrils made of green and purple lightning reached out from between pillars and loosened bricks, from between the folds of his jacket, reaching toward him, the power of One For All shared across manifold realities from a hundred different Izukus and filling his right arm with the power to punch an army of zero-pointer robots into powder.

Bakugou released the catalyzing agent that detonated his nitroglycerin.

Izuku lunged forward and let his fist fly in a haymaker.

Five enormous walls of cement rose between the two as Cementoss desperately worked to try and prevent the devastation of the entire arena. Each was eradicated, two by the flying form of Izuku Midoriya, two by the sheer explosive power of Katsuki Bakugou. The last was demolished when the two meant, the resultant shockwave blowing a gale-force wind through the whole arena. There was enough smoke and dust and debris it was physically impossible for anybody to see what was happening.

Slowly, it settled and cleared.

Slowly, the result was revealed.

Izuku Midoriya stood, his arm hanging limp, every joint from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder dislocated, his arm swollen and throbbing. His top had been destroyed, his pants little more a ragged pair of shorts at this point.

Katsuki Bakugou stood, both arms quivering as he held them upright, palms aimed square at Izuku. His own sports uniform was devastated, leaving him in a similar condition to Izuku. His teeth were clenched together, his eyes wide.

"Fuckin'-"

Izuku took a long step forward, and brought his left arm around in a hook punch. Katsuki dodged back, before kicking this rival's over-extended knee. Izuku dropped to one knee, and Katsuki went for a shot to the jaw. Izuku caught his fist, before sweeping his leg out and catching Katsuki's ankle. Both boys were down. Izuku was grinning. Katsuki was laughing.

He grabbed a fistful of Izuku's hair, before catching a jab to the face and getting knocked took the initiative, grabbing him by the collar with his functional arm and channeling Thunderstruck again, lifting himself and Katsuki up. His back was aching like madness, his legs trembling, but he forced himself to move toward the edge of the arena, to finish this the only way it could possibly be finished.

Katuski blasted him in the face with an explosion, and both boys fell to the ground mere feet from that white line that marked the border of victory and defeat. Both boys laid there for a moment, before in unison they began to rise again. Izuku punched the ground, the pain jolting his system into action. Katsuki bit the inside of his cheek for the same effect. Both boys staggered to a standing position and stared each other down.

"This… is good." Izuku declared, panting and grinning like an idiot despite his fatigue.

"Be better… if you'd just… admit defeat…" Katsuki replied, his smirk far more genuine than he wanted it to be.

"Momma always… told me… lying was… bad…" said Izuku.

"Ain't lyin'... if it's true..." said Bakugou.

Both boys shared a laugh, before Bakugou paused, closing his eyes for a moment before looking back up at Izuku.

"So… are we... friends now?" he asked.

Izuku smiled, reaching out with his left hand as if offering it for Katsuki to shake. Katsuki stared at it, suspicious, before taking it in his own. Both boys met eyes again, and Izuku nodded.

"If that's what you want." he said.

"_If you really want a Quirk… take a dive off the roof!"_

But he didn't.

"_I'm going to be a hero!"_

Here he was.

"_DIE!"_

It was practically his fuckin' catchphrase, fuck you.

"_Do be careful in the rain..."_

Like some bastard in a mask scared him.

"I'd like that." said Katsuki.

"Good." said Izuku.

Then he pulled Katsuki toward him and kicked him in the stomach. Katsuki at the same time, raised his free hand and fired off an explosion. Both boys were knocked back, and Izuku lamented his lack of a second arm at the moment.

"Then let's... fuckin'... finish this!" Katsuki screamed, his grin practically manic.

"Yes… let's." Izuku agreed, his own smile much more pure.

Bakugou began building up another explosion. Izuku began channeling Thunderstruck into his functional arm and legs. Both cocked a hand back, Bakugou's curled into a claw-like shape and filled with a building fireball, Izuku's clenched in a fist and crackling with lightning. Both lunged forward.

And then both collapsed onto the ground, utterly spent, their final blows draining the very last vestiges of strength from both of them. Every single other Izuku that had crowded the arena disappeared in an instant, a flash of green and purple lightning marking their departure. The crowd fell into their first moments of silence since the whole spectacle had begun, the cheers dying down and hands lowering. Midnight stared at the two, practically expecting both of them to get up yet again, to stagger toward each other and keep beating the hell out of one another.

When over a minute passed in near-silence, she raised a reluctant hand and dropped it, calling the match.

"It's a draw!" she declared. "Neither contestant appears to be able to stand! Or… move, actually…"

That third sentence was muttered under her breath as she walked toward the two, standing over their collapsed forms. Both were ragged and utterly wrecked, messes of bruises and general injuries that Recovery Girl would probably throw a fit about. But both were alive. So was Kinoko Komori, who had apparently been teleported away by… someone. Midoriya, most likely.

She, nor anybody else, even noticed that a young man with a green stripe in his hair, had shouted something to Midoriya. Something that had prevented Kinoko's impending injury during the brawl between Bakugou and Midoriya, when the two unleashed their most powerful attacks at each other. Something that had made Midoriya throw away his top to land on top of her curled form, to teleport her to the medbay.

"WELL, IT'S BEEN A HELL OF A DAY, FOLKS!" Present Mic declared. "BUT IT'S BEEN CALLED. OUR FINAL BATTLE OF THE DAY IS A DRAW BETWEEN TEAM MIDORIYA AND TEAM BAKUGOU!"

**AN:**

**Well, that's a wrap. For the Sports Festival, at least. What comes next? Well… all sorts of things, to be wholly honest. But I wanted to give this the ending it deserved, considering this monster of an arc has pretty much been the majority of this story at this point. I didn't set out intending to give it the deluxe treatment… but here we are. **

**It's finally over.**

**What happened? Loads. New characters get new arcs, old characters have shifted and changed, there's a big freaking hole in Class 1-A's roster, Bakugou's about to get in some deep shit when everybody finds out what happened to Todoroki (hopefully now you non-fans of Bakugou will find what you were looking for, though maybe not in the proportions you'd hoped for) and we're gonna be integrating a few new friends into 1-A. **

**Oh, and Nezu's going to be patching up a hole in the rules. Can't let Izuku almost cheat twice, after all. **

**Hopefully this was as satisfying to read as it was to finally write down. I certainly hope it was. Sorry for the kind-of false-advertising with the foreshadowing of the 'multiple Dekus' premise, but no matter how many times I tried to write that battle… it just didn't feel right. Deku should be able to fight his battles, this battle especially, without resorting to tricks like that. Don't get me wrong, I love how cerebral of a combatant Deku is in My Hero proper, but sometimes… sometimes you've just gotta drop the plans, drop the schemes and raise your fists to give it the old one-two. **

**Y'know?**

**Well, that's about it for me. I'm gonna go eat some pizza. Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you with the next one!**

**Addendum: Goobered this up the first time around in an effort to get this finished before my hands totally cramped up, but Big Deku is brought to you by the ever talented Epsilon110, more particularly his story Total Command. It's a great story and I was very happy when he agreed to let me borrow his Deku for this little adventure of ours. Please check it out, it's well worth your time and is the primary reason I believe fem!Bakugou is the best ship for Izuku. **

**No, that's not the ship in this story. Sorry Amadeus, keep guessing.**


End file.
